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THE HUDSON, 



THE WILDEENESS TO THE SEA. 



BENSON j; LOSSING. 



ILLDSTRATED BY THREE HUNDRED AND SIX ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD, 

FROM DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR, 

AND A FRONTISPIECE ON STEEL. 



TROY, N. Y. : 

H. B. NIMS & CO 



f- 




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Initial Letter— The Cardinal Flower and 

Moosehead 1 

A Lodge in the Wilderness 7 

Eaquctte River ... 9 

Tenants of the Uiiper Hudson Forests ... 10 

Camp Helena 12 

Sabattis 13 

Hendi-ick Spring 14 

Swamp Travel 15 

Catlin Lake 16 

First Clearing on the Hudson 17 

First Saw-Mill on the Hudson 18 

Elephant Island 19 

Lumber Dam and Sluice 19 

Initial Letter— The Wayside Fountain ... 21 

Eapids at the Head of Harris's Lake ... 22 

Sandford Lake 23 

The Iron Dam 25 

Adirondack Village 26 

Departure for Tahawus 23 

First Bridge over the Hudson 29 

Bark Cabin at Calamity Pond 30 

Henderson's Monument 31 

Fall in the Opalescent Elver 33 

Climbing Tahawus 34 

Spring on the Peak of Tahawus 35 

Hospice on the Peak of Tahawus 36 

Initial Letter— A Sap Trough 40 

The Loon 41 

Lake Colden 42 

Outlet of Henderson Lake 43 

Trees on Boulders 44 

Adu-ondack, or Indian Pass 45 

Henderson's Lake 46 

Out of the Wilderness 49 

Moose Horns 50 

Outlet of Paradox Lake 51 

Isola Bella 52 

Stump-Machine 51 

View at Warrensbui'g 55 

Confluence of the Hudson and Scarron ... 56 

Fort William Henry Hotel 57 

Initial Letter — Cavern at Glen's Falls ... 59 

Falls at Luzerne 60 

Masque Alonge 61 



PAGE 

Luzerne Lake 62 

Confluence of the Hudson and Sacandaga. 62 

Kali-che-bon-cook, or Jesup's Great Falls . 63 

The Hudson near the Queensbury Line ... 65 

The Great Boom ... 66 

Glen's Falls 69 

Below the Bridge at Glen's Falls 70 

Baker's Falls 73 

Ground-plan of Fort Edward 74 

The Jenny M'Crea Tree 77 

Balm-of-GUean- Tree 79 

View at Fort Edward SO 

"Cob-Money" • 80 

Fort Miller Rapids 81 

Initial Letter— Canal Bridge and Boat ... 83 
Canal Bridge across the Hudson above the 

* 'Saratoga Dam 84 

Confluence of the Hudson and Batten-Kill 85 
Di-on-on-deh-o-wa, or Great Falls of the 

Batten-Kill 86 

The Keidesel House 87 

CeUar of Reidesel House 87 

Rapids of the Fish Creek, at Schuylerville 88 

The Schuyler Blansion 90 

Scene of Biu'goyne's Siu'render 9-3 

Gates's Head-quarters 94 

Rope Ferry 96 

Burgoyne's Encampment (from a Print 

published in London, in 1779) 97 

House in which General Eraser died ... 98 

Fraser's Burial-place 99 

Neilson's House, Bemis's Heights 100 

Room occupied by Major Ackland 103 

Relics from the Battle Field 104 

Denick Swarfs House at Stillwater 105 

Viaduct of the Vermont Central Railway . Iu7 

Wat erford and Lansingburgh Bridge ... 108 

View at Cohoes Falls 110 

Lock at State Dam, Troy 112 

Vanderheyden House 113 

Rensselaer and Saratoga Railway Bridge . 114 

View of Troy from Mount Ida 115 

United States Arsenal at Waten'liet 116 

Schuyler House at the Flats 117 

V^an Rensselaer Manor House 119 



VI 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Van Rensselaer Arms 

Old Dutch Church in Albany 

Street View in Ancient Albanj' 

Vanderheyden Palace 

Fort Frederick 

General Schuj-ler's Mansion in Albany 

Staircase in Schuyler's Mansion 

The State Capitol 

Canal Basin at Albany 

The Dudley Observatory 

Greenbush Eailway Station 

View near the Overslagh 

Coxsakie 



PAGE 

.. 121 

.. 122 

.. 124 

.. 125 

.. 127 

.. 129 

.. 131 

.. 13:3 

.. 134 

.. 137 

.. 139 

.. 142 

.. 144 

Fishing Station— Sturgeon, Shad, Bass ... 14-5 

View from the Promenade, Hudson 147 

Athens, from the Hudson Iron Works ... 148 

View at Katz-Kill Landing 149 

Entrance to the Katzbergs 1.51 

Eip Van Winkle's Cabin 1.53 

Mountain House, from the Eoad 156 

View from South Mountain 159 

Katers-Kill Falls 162 

The Fawn's Leap 164 

Scene at the Katers-Kill, near PalensviUe 165 

Old Clermont 167 

Clermont 168 

View at De Koven's Bay 170 

The Clermont 170 

Livingston's Mansion at Tivoli 171 

Mouth of Esopus Creek, Saugerties 172 

St. Stephen's College 173 

Montgomerj' Place 174 

The Katzbergs from Montgomerj' Place ... 1 75 

Piokeby 176 

Beeknian's House 177 

EIler,slie 178 

View from Wildercliff 179 

Kingston , 182 

Eondout Creek 184 

Placentia 186 

Poughkeepsie, from Lewisbiu'g 187 

Van Kleek House 189 

The Highlands, from Poughkeepsie 190 

Locust Grove 191 

Milton Ferry and Horse-Boat 192 

New Hamburg Tunnel 193 

The Arbor VitcC 194 

Marlborough, from the Lime-Kilns 195 

Mouth of Wappingi's Creek 196 

Washington's Head-quarters at Newburgh 199 

Interior of Washington's Head-quarters . . . 200 

Life-Guard Monument 201 

Newburgh Bay 202 

Fishkill Landing and Newburgh 203 

Idlewild from the Brook 204 

In the Glen at Idlewild 205 

Upper Entrance to the Highlands 207 



PAGE 

At the Foot of the Storm King 209 

" The Powell " off the Storm King Valley 210 

Scene oif the Storm King Valley 211 

Highland Entrance to Newburgh Bay ... 212 

Northern View from the Storm King ... 214 

Southern A'iew from the Storm King ... 216 

Kidd's Plug Cliff 217 

Crow's Nest 218 

Cadet's Monument 221 

Cold Spring, from the Cemetery 222 

AVest Point, from the Cemetery 223 

Fort Putnam, from the West 224 

View from Fort Putnam 225 

Lieutenant-Colonel Wood's Monument ... 226 

View from the Siege Battery 227 

The Great Chain " 228 

Western View, from Roe's Hotel 229 

The Parade 2.30 

Kosciuszko's Monument 231 

Dade's Command's Monument 232 

Kosciuszko's Garden 2.33 

View from Battery Knox 234 

The Beverly House 2-36 

The Staircase of the Robinsons' House ... 240 

1 he Indian Falls 241 

View South from Dutilh's 242 

Indian Brook 243 

View from Rossiter's Mansion 245 

West Point Foundry 247 

Undercliff 2J8 

Euins of Battery on Constitution Island ... 250 

View at Garrison's 251 

Cozzens's 252 

Church of the Holy Innocents 2.53 

The Road to Cozzens's Dock 254 

Buttermilk Falls 2.55 

Upper Cascades, Buttermilk Falls 256 

Beverly Dock 257 

Lower Entrance to the Highlands, from 

Peek's Kill 

Falls in Fort Jlontgomery Creek 
Scene' in Fort Montgomeiy Creek .. 

Lake Sinnipink 

Anthony's Nose and the Sugar Loaf, from 

the Ice Depot 

Tunnel at Anthony's Nose 

The Brocken Kill 

Eattlcsnake 

Tunnel at Flat Point 

lona, from the Railway 

Donder Berg Point 

The Peek's Kill 

Skaters on Peek's Kill Bay 

AVinter Fishing 

Fishermen, from the Old Lime-Kilns 
Tomkins's Lime-Kilns and Quairy ., 
Stony Point 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Vll 



PAGE 

Stouy Point Lighthouse and Fog-Bell ... 283 
Verplanck's Point, from Stony Point 

Lighthouse 2So 

Grassy Point and Torn Mountain 286 

Smith's House on Treason Hill 288 

Meeting-place of Andre and Arnold 292 

Sleigh Riding on the Hudson 296 

C'roton Aqueduct at Sing Sing 29" 

State Prison at Sing Sing 299 

State Prisoners 300 

Croton Point, from Sing Sing 304 

Rockland, or Slaughterer's Landing 305 

Rockland Lake 306 

Mouth of the Croton 307 

Croton Dam 309 

Ventilators 310 

High Bridge over Uie Croton 311 

Van Cortlandt Manor House 312 

View from Prickly Pear Hill 316 

The Porpoise 317 

General Ward's Mansion 318 

Ancient Dutch Cluu-eh .320 

Sleepy Hollow Bridge 321 

Irving's Grave 324 

Philipse's Mill-Dam 327 

Philipse Castle 328 

Distant View at Tarrytown 329 

View on the Po-can-te-co from Irving 

Park 330 

Monument at Tarrj'town 331 

Washington's Head-quarters at Tappan ... 336 

Andi-e's Pen and Ink Sketch 338 

Andre's Monument 339 

Paulding Manor 340 

Sunnyside 342 

Irving's Study 343 

The Brook at Sunnj-side 346 

The Pond, or " Mediterranean Sea " ... 347 

Wolfert's Roost when Irving pui-chased it 350 

View at Irvington , 354 

Nevis 355 

View at Dobbs's Ferry 356 

A'iew near Hastings 357 

Livingston Mansion 358 

The Palisades 359 

Philipse Manor Hall 362 

The "Half-Moon" 363 

Font HUl 365 

Mount St. Vincent Academy 366 

Spyt den Duyvel Creek 367 

The Century House ,369 

The High Bridge 372 

Tlie Harlem River, from the Morris House 373 

The Morris Mansion 374 

The Grange 375 

View on Washington Heights 378 

Jefferj''s Hook 379 



PAGE 

Asj-lum for the Deaf and Dumb 380 

Audubon's Residence 382 

View in Trinity Cemetery 385 

ManhattanviUe, from Claremont 386 

Claremont 387 

View on Bloomingdale Road 389 

Asj'lum for the Insane 390 

Elm Park in 1861 391 

Orphan Asylum 394 

Harlem Plams 395 

View in Central Park 396 

The Terrace Bridge and Mall 399 

A Squatter Village 400 

Provoost's Tomb— Jones's Woods 401 

View near Hell-Gate 403 

The Beekman Mansion 406 

Turtle Bay and Blackwell's Island 407 

The Reservoir, Fifth Avenue 408 

Fifth Avenue Hotel, Madison Park 409 

Worth's Monument 412 

Union Park 415 

Stuj-vesant Pear Tree 416 

Stuyvesant's House 417 

St. Blark's Clim-ch and Histoi-ical Society 

House 413 

Bible House, Cooper Institute, and CUnton 

Hall 419 

Washington's Residence as it appeared in 

1850 421 

Franklin Square 423 

Broadway at St. Paul's : ... 424 

Soldiers' Monument in Trinity Churchyard 426 
Seals of New Amsterdam and New York. . . 427 
Dutch Mansion and Cottage in New Am- 
sterdam 428 

The Bowling Green and Fort George in 1783 429 

The Bowling Green in 1861 431 

Th e Battery and Castle Garden 432 

Old Federal HaU 433 

Hudson River Steamers leaving New York 434 

View near Nyack 436 

View from Fort Lee 438 

Bull's Ferry 440 

Duelling Ground, Weehawk 448 

View at the El j'sian Fields 450 

Stevens's Floating Battery 451 

Jersey City and Cunard Dock 453 

Brooklyn Ferry and Heights 454 

Navy Yard, Brooklyn 455 

S}'lvan Water, Greenwood 456 

Governor's and Bedloe's Islands 457 

The Narrows, from Quarantine 4.58 

Fort Lafaj-ette 459 

Fort Hamilton 460 

Surf Batliiug, Coney Island 461 

Sandy Hook, from the Ship Channel ... 462 

Sandy Hook, from the Lighthouses 463 



THE HUDSON, 

FROM THE WILDERNESS TO THE SEA. 



C H A r T E ?, T . 

T is proposed to present, in a series of sketches 
witli pen and pencil, pictures of the Hud- 
son River, from its birth among the 
mountains to its marriage with the ocean . 
iS It is by far tlic most interesting river in 
America, considering the beauty and mag- 
nificence of its scenery, its natural, political, 
and social history, the agricultural and 
mineral treasures of its vicinage, the com- 
mercial wealth hourly floating upon its 
bosom, and the relations of its geography 
and topography to souk; of the most im- 
portant events in the history of the Western hemisphere. 

High upon the walls of the governor's room in the New York City 
Hall is a dingy painting of a broad-headed, short-haired, sparsely-bearded 
man, with an enormous ruffle about his neck, and bearing the impress 
of an intellectual, courtly gentleman of the days of King James the Krst 
of England. By whom it was painted nobody knows, but conjecture 
shrewdly guesses that it was delineated by the hand of Paul Van 
Someren, the skilful Flemish artist who painted the portraits of many 
persons of distinction in Amsterdam and London, in the reign of James, 
and died in the British capital four years before that monarch. We are 

V, 




THE HUDSON. 



■well assured that it is the portrait of an eminent navigator, who, in that 
remarkable year in the history of England and America, one thonsand six 
hundred and seven, met *'certaine worshippeful merchants of London," 
in the parlour of a son of Sir Thomas Gresham, in Bishopsgate Street, 
and bargained concerning a proposed voyage in search of a north-east 
passage to India, between the icy and rock-bound coasts of Nova Zenibla 
and Spitzbcrgen. 

That navigator was Henry Hudson, a friend of Captain John Smith, a 
man of science and liberal views, and a piipil, perhaps, of Drake, or 
Frobisher, or Grenville, in the seaman's art. On May-day morning he 
knelt in the church of St. Ethelburga, and partook of the Sacrament ; and 
soon afterward he left the • Thames for the circumpolar waters. During 
two voyages he battled the ice-pack manfully off the North Cape, but with- 
out success : boreal frosts were too intense for the brine, and cast impene- 
trable ice-barriers across the eastern pathway of the sea. His employers 
praised the navigator's skill and courage, but, losing faith in the scheme, 
the undertaking was abandoned. Hudson went to Holland with a stout 
heart ; and the Dutch East India Company, then sending their uncouth 
argosies to every sea, gladly employed "the bold Englishman, the expert 
pilot, and famous navigator," of whose fame they had heard so much. 

At the middle of March, 1609, Hendrick, as the Dutch called him, 
sailed from Amsterdam in a yacht of ninety tons, named the Salf-Moon, 
manned with a choice crew, and turned his prow, once more, toward 
Nova Zembla. Again ice, and fogs, and fierce tempests, disputed his 
passage, and he steered westward, passed Cape Farewell, and, on the 2nd 
of Jiily, made soundings upon the banks of Newfoundland. He sailed 
along the coast to the fine harbour of Charleston, in South Carolina, in 
search of a north-west passage " below Yirginia," spoken of by his friend 
Captain Smith. Disappointed, he turned northward, discovered Delaware 
Bay, and on the 3rd of September anchored near Sandy Hook. On tlie 
1 1th he passed through the Narrows into the present bay of New York, 
and from his anchorage beheld, with joy, wonder, and hope, the waters of 
the noble Mahicannituck, or Mohcgan River, flowing from the high blue 
hills on the north. Toward evening the following day he entered the 
broad stream, and with a full persuasion, on account of tidal currents, 



THE HUDSON, 



that tlie river iipou which he was home flowed from ocean to ocean, he 
rejoiced in the dream of hciug the leader to the long-sought Cathay, 
But when the magnificent highlands, fifty miles from the sea, were passed, 
and the stream narrowed and the water freshened, hope failed him. But 
the indescribable beauty of the virgin land through which he was 
voyaging, filled his heart and mind with exquisite pleasure ; and as 
deputations of dusky men came from the courts of the forest sachems to 
visit him, in Avonder and awe, he seemed transformed into some majestic 
and mysterious hero of the old sagas of the North. 

The yacht anchored near the shore where Albany now stands, but a 
boat's crew, accompanied by Hudson, went on, and beheld the waters of 
the Mohawk foaming among the rocks at Cohoes. Then hack to New 
York Bay the navigator sailed ; and after a parting salutation with the 
chiefs of the Manhattans at the mouth of the river, and taking formal 
possession of the country in the name of the government of Holland, he 
departed for Europe, to tell of the glorious region, filled with fur-bearing 
animals, beneath the parallels of the North Yirginia Charter. He landed 
in England, but sent his log-book, charts, and a full account of his 
voyage to his employers at Amsterdam. King James, jealous because of 
the advantages which the Dutch might derive from these discoveries, kept 
Hudson a long time in England ; hut tlie Hollanders had all necessary 
information, and very soon ships of the company and of priAate adventurers 
were ancliored in the waters of the Maliicannituck, and receiAang the 
Avealth of the forests from the wild men who inhabited them. The 
Dutchmen and the Indians became friends, close-bound by the cohesion 
of trade. The river was named Mauritius, in honour of the Stadtholder 
of the Netherlands, and the seed of a great empire was planted there. 

The English, in honour of their countryman who discovered it, called 
it Hudson's River, and to the present time that title has been maintained; 
but not without continual rivalry with that of North Eiver, given it by 
the early Dutch settlers after the discovery of the Delaware, which was 
named South River. It is now as often called North River as Hudson in 
the common transactions of trade, names of corporations, &c, ; but these, 
with Americans, being convertible titles, produce no confusion, 

Eor one hundred and fifty years after its discovery, the Hudson, above 



THE HUDSON. 



Albany, was little kuowu to -white men, excepting hunters and trappers, 
and a few isolated settlers ; and the knoAvledge of its sources among lofty- 
alpine ranges is one of the revelations made to the present century, and 
even to the present generation. And now very few, excepting the 
hunters of that region, have personal knowledge of the beauty and wild 
grandeur of lake, and forest, and mountain, out of which spring the 
fountains of the river Ave are about to describe. To these tbuntains and 
their forest courses I made a pilgrimage toward the close of the summer 
of 1859, accompanied by Mrs. Lossing and Mr. S. M. Buckingham, an 
American gentleman, formerly engaged in mercantile business in Man- 
chester, England, and Avho has travelled extensively in the East. 

Our little company, composed of the minimum in the old prescription 
for a dinner-party — not more than the Muses nor less than the Graces — ■ 
left our homes, iu the pleasant rural city of Poughkeepsic, on the Hudson, 
for the wilderuesss of northern Kew York, by a route which we are 
satislied, by experience and observation, to be the best for the tourist or 
sportsman bound for the head waters of that river, or the high j)lateau 
northward and westward of them, where lie in solitary beauty a multitude 
of lakes filled with delicious fish, and embosomed in primeval forests 
abounding with deer and other game. We travelled by railway about 
one hundred and fifty miles to "Whitehall, a small village in a rocky 
gorge, where Wood Creek leaps in cascades into the head of Lake Cham- 
plain. There we tarried until the following morning, and at ten o'clock 
embarked upon a steamboat for Port Kent — our point of departure for the 
Avild interior, far down the lake on its western border. The day was 
fine, and the slaores of the lake, clustered with historical associations, 
presented a series of beautiful pictures ; for they were rich with forest 
verdure, the harvests of a fruitful seed-time, and thrifty villages and 
farmhouses, liehind these, on the east, arose the lofty ranges of the 
Green Mountains, in Vermont ; and on the west were the Adiroudacks of 
^ew York, whither we waae journeying, their clustering peaks, distant 
and shadowy, bathed in the golden light of a summer afternoon. 

Lake Champlain is deep and narrow, and one hundred and forty mile 
in length. It received its present name from its discoverer, the eminent 
French navigator, Samuel Champlain, who was upon its waters the same 



THE HUDSON. 



year wlien Hudson sailed up tlic river "U'liich bears liis name. Champlain 
came from the north, and Hudson from the south ; and they penetrated 
the wilderness to points within a hundred miles of each other. Long 
before, the Indians had given it the significant title of Can-i-a-de-ri Qua' 
run-te, the Door of the Country. The appropriateness of this name will 
be illustrated hereafter. 

It was evening when we arrived at Port Kent. We remained until 
morning with a friend (Winslow C. AVtitson, Esq., a descendant of 
Governor Winslow, who came to jS^ew England in the Mai/Jfoicer), Avhose 
personal explorations and general knowledge of the region wo were 
about to visit, enabled him to give us information of much value in our 
subsequent course. AVith himself and family we visited the walled banks 
of the Great Au Sable, near Keeseville, and stood with wonder and awe 
at the bottom of a terrific gorge in sandstone, rent by an earthquake's 
power, and a foaming river rushing at our feet. The gorge, for more 
than a mile, is from thirty to forty feet in width, and over one hundred 
in depth. This was our first experience of the Avilcl scenery of the north. 
The tourist should never pass it unnoticed. 

Our direct route from Keeseville lay along the picturesque valley of the 
Great Au Sable lliver, a stream broken along its entire course into cascades, 
draining about seven hundred square miles of mountain country, and 
falling four thousand six hundred feet in its passage from its springs to 
Lake Champlain, a distance of only about forty miles. We made a detour 
of a few miles at Keeseville for a special purpose, entered the vallej- at 
twilight, and passed along the margin of the rushing waters of the Au 
Sable six miles to the Eorks, where we remained until morning. The 
day dawned gloomily, and for four hours we rode over the mountains 
toward the Saranac lliver in a drenching rain, for which we were too 
well prepared to experience any inconvenience. At Franklin Falls, on 
the Saranac, in the midst of the Avildest mountain scenery, where a few 
years before a forest village had been destroyed by fire, we dined upon 
trout and venison, the common food of the wilderness, and then rode on 
toward the Lower Saranac Lake, at the foot of which we were destined to 
leave roads, and horses, ai;d industrial pursuits behind, and live upon the 
solitary lake and river, aud in the almost unbroken woods. 



6 THE HUDSON. 



The clouds were scattered early in the afternoon, but lay in heavy 
masses upon the summits of the deep blue mountains, and deprived us of 
the pleasure to be derived from distant views in the amphitheatre of 
everlasting hills through which we were journeying. Our road was over 
a high rolling country, fertile, and in process of rapid clearing. The log- 
houses of the settlers, and the cabins of the charcoal burners, were 
frequently seen ; and in a beautiful valley, watered by a branch of the 
Saranac, we passed through a pleasant village called Bloomingdale. 
Toward evening we reached the sluggish outlet of the Saranac Lakes, 
and at a little before sunset our postilion reined up at Baker's Inn, two 
miles from the Lower Lake, and fifty-one from Port Kent. To the lover 
and student of nature, the artist and the philosopher, the country through 
which Ave had passed, and to Avhieh only brief allusion may here be made, 
is among the most invitiug spots upon the globe, for magnificent and 
picturesque scenery, mineral wealth, and geological wonders, abound on 
every side. 

At Baker's Inn every comfort for a reasonable man Avas found. Tliere 
we procured guides, boats, and provisions for the wilderness ; and at a 
little pnst noon on the following day we were fairly beyond the sounds of 
the settkments, upon a placid lake studded with islands, the sun shining 
ii: unclouded splendour, and the blue peaks of distant mountains looming 
above the dense forests that lay in gloomy grandeur between us and their 
rugged acclivities. 

Our party now consisted of five, two guides having been ;idded to it. 
One of them Avas a son of ]\Ir. Baker, the other a pure-blooded Penobscot 
Indian from the state of Maine. Eacli had a light boat — so light that he 
might carry it upon his shoulders at portages, or the intervals between 
the navigable portions of streams or lakes. In one of these was borne 
our luggage, provisions, and Mr. Buckingham, and in the other 
Mrs. Lossing and myself. 

The Saranac Lakes are three in number, and lie on the south-easton 
borders of Franklin County, nortli of ^Fount Seward. They are known 
as the Upper, Eound, and Lower. The latter, over which we first 
voyaged, is six miles in length. From its head we passed along a winding 
and narrow river, fringed Avitli rushes, lilies, and moose-head plants, 



THE HUDSON. 



almost to the central or Eound Lake, where vre made a portage of a few 
rods, and dined beneath a towering pine-tree. "While there, two deer- 
hounds, whose voices we had heard in the forest a few minutes before, 
came dashing up, dripping with the lake vpater through which they had 
been swimming, and, after snuffing the scent of our food wistfully for 
a moment, disappeared as suddenly. 'We crossed Eound Lake, three 
and a half miles, and went up a narrow river about a mile, to the falls 








A LODKE IN THK AVILDEEXESS. 



at the outlet of the Upper Saranao. Here, twelve miles from our 
embarkation, was a place of entertainment for tourists and sportsmen, in 
the midst of a small clearing. A portage of an eighth of a mile, over 
which the boats and luggage were carried upon a waggon, brought us to 
the foot of the Upper Lake. On this dark, wild sheet of water, thirteen 
miles in length, we embarked toward the close of the day, and just before 
sunset reached the lodge of Corey, a hunter and guide well known in all 
that region. It stood near the gravelly shore of a beautiful bay with a 
large island in its bosom, heavily wooded with evergreens. It was 
Saturday evening, and here, in this rude house of logs, where we had 



THE HUDSON. 



been pleasantly received by a modest and genteel young woman, we 
resolved to spend the Sabbath. Nor did we regret onr resolution. "We 
found good wilderness accommodations ; and at midnight the hunter came 
with his dogs from a long tramp in the woods, bringing a fresh-killed 
deer upon his shoulders. 

Our first Sabbath in the wilderness was a delightful one. It was a 
perfect summer-day, and all around us were freshness and beauty. We 
were alone with God and His works, far away from the abodes of men ; 
and when at evening the stars came out one by one, they seemed to the 
communing spirit like diamond lamps hung up in the dome of a great 
cathedral, in which we had that day worshipped so purely and lovingly. 
It is profitable, as I^ryant says, to 

"Go abroad 
Upon the paths of Natiu'e, and, -when all 
Its voices wliisper, and its silent things 
Are breathing the deep beauty of the world, 
Kneel at its ample altar." 

Early on Monday morning we resumed our journey. "VYe walked a 
mile through the fresh woods to the upper of the three Spectacle Ponds, 
on which we were to embark for the Eaquette Eiver and Long Lake. 
Our boats and luggage were here carried upon a waggon for the last time ; 
after that they were all borne upon the shoulders of the guides. Here 
we were joined by another guide, with his boat, who was returning to his 
home, near the hetid waters of the Hudson, toward Avhich we were 
journeying. The guides who were conducting us were to leave us at 
Long Lake, and finding the one who had joined us intelligent and 
obliging, and well acquainted with a portion of the region we were about 
to explore, we engaged him for the remainder of our wilderness travel. 

The Spectacle Ponds are beautiful sheets of water in the forest, lying 
near each other, and connected by shallow streams, through which the 
guides waded and dragged the boats. The outlet — a narrow, sinuous 
stream, and then shallow, because of a drought that was prevailing in all 
that northern country — is called " Stony Brook." After a course of 
three and a half miles through wild and picturesque scenery, it empties 
into the Ilaquette Eiver. All along its shores we saw fresh tracks of the 



THE HUDSON. 



deer, and upon its banks the splendid Cardinal flower {Lohelia cardinalis), 
glowing like flame, was seen in many a nook."''' 

Our entrance into the Eaquette was so quiet and unexpected, that we 




KAgi'ETTE RIVER, 



were not aware of the change until we were fairly upon its broader 
bosom. It is the most beautiful river in all that wild interior. Its 



'^ Tliis superb plant is found from July to October along the shores of the lakes, rivers, and rivulets, 
and in swamps, all over northern New York. It is perennial, and is borne upon an erect stem, from tvio 
to three feet in height. The leaves are long and slender, witli a long, tapering base. The flowers are 
large and very show}'. Corolla bright scarlet ; the tube slender ; segments of the lower lip oblong- 
lanceolate ; filaments red ; anthers blue ; stigma three-lobed, and at length protruded. It gi-ows readily 
when transplanted, even in dry soil, and is frequentlj* seen in our gardens. A picture of this plant 
forms a portion of the design aroinid the initial letter at the head of this cliapter. 



10 



THE HUDSON. 



shores are generally low, and extend back some distance in wet prairies, 
upon which grow the soft maple, the aspen, alder, linden, and other 
deciduous trees, interspersed with the hemlock and pine. These fringe 
its borders, and standing in clumps upon the prairies, in the midst of rank 
grass, give them the appearance of beautiful deer parks ; and they are 
really so, for there herds of deer do pasture. "We saw their fresh tracks 
all along the shores, but they are now so continually hunted, that they 
keep away from the waters whenever a strange sound falls upon their 
cars. In the deep wilderness through which this dark and rapid river 
flows, and around the neighbouring lakes, the stately moose yet lingers ; 




TEN.iXTS OF THE V]>1>£E UIUSO.X JORKSiS. 



and upon St. Regis Lake, north of the Saranao group, two or three 
families of the beaver — the most rare of all the tenants of these tbrests— 
might then be found. The otter is somewhat abundant, but the panther 
has become almost extinct ; the wolf is seldom seen, except in winter ; 
and the black bear, quite abundant in the mountain ranges, was shv and 
invisible to the summer tourist. 

The chief source of the Eaquette is in Eaquette Lake, toward the 
western part of Hamilton County. Around it the Indians, in the ancient 
days, gathered on snow-shoes, in winter, to hunt the moose, then found 



THE HUDSON. 11 



there in large droves ; and from that circumstance they named it 
" E-aquet," the equivalent in French for snow-shoe in English.* 

Seven miles from our entrance upon the Kaquette, we came to the 
" Falls," where the stream rushes in cascades over a rocky bed for a mile. 
At the foot of the rapids we dined, and then walked a mile over a lofty, 
thickly-wooded hill, to their head, where we re-embarkcd. Hero our 
guides first carried their boats, and it was surprising to see with what 
apparent ease our Indian took the heaviest, weighing at least 160 lbs., 
"and with a dog-trot bore it the whole distance, stopping only once. The 
boat rests upon a yoke, similar to those which water-carriers use in some 
countries, fitted to the neck and shoulders, and it is thus borne with the 
ease of the coracle. 

At the head of the rapids we met acquaintances — two clergymen in 
hunting costume — and after exchanging salutations, we voyaged on six 
miles, to the foot of Long Lake, through which the Eaquette flows, like 
the llhone thi'ough Lake Geneva. This was called by the Indians Inca- 
pah-cliow, or Linden Sea, because the forests upon its shores abounded 
with the bass-wood or American linden. As we entered that beautiful 
sheet of water, a scene of indescribable beauty opened upon the vision. 
The sun was yet a little above the western hills, whose long shadows 
lay across the wooded intervals. Before us was the lake, calm and trans- 
lucent as a mirror, its entire length of thirteen miles in view, except 
where broken by islands, the more distant appearing shadowy in the 
purple light. The lofty mountain ranges on both sides stretched away 
into the blue distance, and the slopes of one, and the peak of another, 
were smoking like volcanoes, the timber being on fire. Near us the 
groves upon the headlands, solitary trees, rich shrubbery, graceful rushes, 
the clustering moose-head and water-lily, and the gorgeous cloud-pictures, 
were perfectly reflected, and produced a scene such as the mortal eye 
seldom beholds. The sun went down, the vision faded ; and, sweeping 
around a long, marshy point, we drew our boats upon a pebbly shore at 



* This is the account of tlie origin of its name, given by the French Jesuits who fli-st explored that 
region. Others say that its Indian name, Ni-/ia-na-ica-te, means a racket, or noise — noisy river, and 
spell it Backet. But it is no more noisy than its near neighbour, the Grass Kiver which flows into the 
St. Lawrence from tlie bosom of the same wilderness. 



12 



THE HUDSON. 



twilight, at the foot of a piue-bluff, and proceeded to erect a camp for the 
night. No human habitation was near, excepting the bark cabin of 
Bowen, the " Hermit of Long Lake," whose history we have not space to 
record. 

Our camp was soon constructed. The guides selected a pleasant spot 
near the foot of a lofty pine, placed two crotched sticks perpendicularly 
in the ground, about eight feet apart, laid a stout pole horizontally across 




CAMP HELENA. 



them, placed others against it in position like the rafters of half a roof, 
one end upon the ground, and covered the whole and both sides with the 
boughs of the hemlock and pine, leaving the front open. The ground 
was then strewn with the delicate sprays of the hemlock and balsam, 
making a sweet and pleasant bed. A few feet from the front they built 
a huge fire, and prepared supper, which consisted of broiled partridges 



THE HUDSON. 



13 



(that were shot on the shores of the Raquette by one of the guides), 
bread and butter, tea and maple sugar. "VVe supped by the light of a 
birch-bark torch, fastened to a tall stick. At the close of a mounlight 
evening, our fire burning brightly, we retired for the night, wrapped in 
blanket shawls, our satchels and their contents serving for pillows, our 
heads at the back part of the "camp," and our feet to the fire. The 
guides lying near, kept the wood blazing throughout the night. "We 
named the place Camp Helena, in compliment to the lady of our party. 

The morning dawned gloriously, and at an early hour we proceeded up 
the Iiica-pah-choa\ in the face of a stiff" breeze, ten miles to the mouth of 
a clear stream, that came down from one of the burning mountains which 
we saw the evening before. A walk of half a mile brought us to quite 
an extensive clearing, and Houghton's house of entertainment. There 
we dismissed our Saranac guides, and despatched on horseback the one 
who had joined us on the Spectacle 
Ponds to the home of Mitchell Sabattis, 
a St. Francis Indian, eighteen miles 
distant, to procure his services for 
our tour to the head waters of the 
Hudson. Sabattis was by far the 
best man in all that region to lead 
the traveller to the Hudson waters, 
and the Adirondack Mountains, for 
he had lived in that neighbourhood 
from his youth, and was then between 
thirty and forty years of age. He 
was a grandson of Sabattis mentioned 
in history, who, with Natanis, be- 
friended Colonel Benedict Arnold, 
while on his march through the wilderness from the Kennebeck to the 
Chaudiere, in the autumn of 1775, to attack Quebec. Much to our 
delight and relief, Sabattis returned with our messenger, for the demand 
for good guides was so great, that we were fearful he might be absent on 
duty with others. 

Thick clouds came rolling over the mountains from the south at 




S-UJATTIS. 



14 



THE HUDSON. 



evening, presaging a storm, and the night fell intensely dark. The 
biu'ning hill above us presented a magnificent appearance in the gloom. 
The fire was in broken points over a surface of half a mile, near the 
summit, and the appearance was like a city upon the lofty slope, 
brilliantly illuminated. It was sad to see the fire sweeping away whole 
acres of fine timber. But such scenes are frequent in that region, and 
every bald and blackened hill-top in the ranges is the record of a 
conflagration. 

"We were detained at Houghton's the following day by a heavy ruin. 
On the morning after, the clouds drifted away early, and with our now 
and excellent guides, Mitchell Sabattis and William Preston, we went 
~'J#^"i . -f j^ . ^^'^ ^>-^ •■ , ,■> down the lake eight miles, 

and landed at a " carry" — as 
the portages are called — on 
its eastern shore, within half 
a mile of Hendrick Spring 
(^so named in honour of Hen- 
drick Hudson), the most re- 
mote source of the extreme 
Avestern branch of our noble 
river. To reach water navig- 
able with our boats, we were 
compelled to walk through 
Ibrest and swamp about two 
miles. That was our first 
really fatiguing journey on 
foot, for to facilitate the pas- 
sage, we each carried as much luggage as possible. 

We found Hendrick Spring in the edge of a swamp — cold, shallow, 
about five feet in diameter, shaded by trees, shrubbery, and vines, and 
fringed with the delicate brake and fern. Its waters, rising within half 
a mile of Long Lake, and upon the same summit level, flow southward to 
the Atlantic more than three hundred miles ; while those of the latter 
flow to tlie St. Lawrence, and reach the same Atlantic a thousand miles 
away to the far north-east. A few years ago. Professor G. W. Benedict 




UENDBICK SPKIXG. 



THE HUDSON. 



15 



(who was connected with the State Geological Survey) attempted to nnite 
these waters by a canal, for lumbering purposes, but the enterprise was 
abandoned. We followed the ditch that he had cut through the swamp 
nearly half a mile, among tall raspberry bushes, laden with delicious 
fruit, and for another half mile we made our way over the most difficult 
ground imaginable. Dead trees were lying in every direction, some 
charred, others prone with black ragged roots, and all entangled in 
shrubbery and vines. Through this labvrinth our guides cariied their 




SWAMP THAVJil, 



boats, and we quite heavy packs, but all were compelled to rest every 
few minutes, for the sun was shining hotly upon us. "We were neai-ly 
an hour travelling that half mile. Thoroughly wearied, we entered one 
of the boats at the first navigable point on Spring Erook, that flows from 
the Hendrick source, and rowed leisurely down to Fountain Lake, while 



16 



THE HUDSON. 



our guides returned for the remainder of the luggage and provisions. 
The passage of that portage consumed four hours. 

Fountain Lake is the first collection of the waters of the west branch 
of the Hudson. It is about two miles in circumference, with highly 
picturesque shores. It empties into Catlin Lake through a shallow, 
stony outlet. From both of these we had fine views of the near Santanoni 
Mountains, and the more distant ranges of Mount Seward, on the east. 
At the foot of Fountain Lake is another '' carry" of a mile. A few rods 
down its outlet, whei-e we crossed, we found the remains of a dam and 




CAILIX LAKK. 



sluice, erected by Professor Benedict, to raise the waters so as to flow 
through his canal into Long Lake, and for another purpose, which will 
be exjjlained presently. The sun went down while we were crossing this 
portage, and finding a good place for a camp on the margin of a cold 
mountain stream in the deep forest, we concluded to remain there during 
the night. Our guides soon constructed a shelter with an inverted boat, 
poles, and boughs, and we all slept soundly, after a day of exccssiA'o toil. 
In the morning wo embarked upon the beautiful Catlin Lake, and 
rowed to its outlet — three miles. After walking; a few rods over 



THE HUDSON. 



17 



boulders, while our guides dragged the boats through a narrow channel 
between them, we re-embarked upon Narrow Lake, and passed through 
it and Lilypad Pond — a mile and a half — to another ''carry" of three- 
fourths of a mile, which brought us to the junction of the Hudson and 
Fishing Brook. This was a dreary region, and yet highly picturesque. 
It was now about noon. Sabattis informed us that, a little way up the 
Fishing Erook, were a clearing and a saw-mill — the first on the Hudson. 




URSl CLEAKINt 0\ IHE Ht DSO>f 



We walked about half a mile through the woods to see them. Emerging 
from the forest, we came to a field filled with boulders and blackened 
stumps, and, from the summit of a hill, we overlooked an extensive 
rolling valley, heavily timbered, stretching westward to the "Windfall 
fountains, and at our feet were the Clearing and the Saw-mill. The 
latter stood at the head of a deep rocky gorge, down which great logs are 
sent at high Avater. The clearing was too recent to allow much fruit of 
tillage, but preparations were made for farming, in the erection of a good 
frame dwelling and outhouses. The head waters of this considerable 
tributary of the Upper Hudson is Pickwaket Pond, four miles above the 
mill. 



18 



THE HUDSON. 



A short distanoo below the confluence of the Hudson and Pishing 
Brook, we entered llich's Lake, an irregular sheet of water, about two 
miles and a half in longtli, with surroundings naore picturesque, in some 




FIRST SAM'-MILI, 0\ IIIIO HI iiSO.N. 



respects, than any we had visited. From its southern shore Goodenow 
Mountain rises to an altitude of about fifteen hundred feet, crowned by a 
rocky knob. Near the foot of the lake is a wooded peninsula, whose low 
isthmus, being covered at high water, leaves it an island. It is called 
Elephant Island, because of the singular resemblance of some of the lime- 



THE HUDSON. 



19 



stone formation that composes its bold shore to portions of that animal. 
The whole rock is perforated into singularly-formed caves. This, and 




iLKl'lfAM' ISLA.NU. 



another similar shore a few miles below, wei'c the only de])osits of lime- 
stone that we saw in all that region. 

At the outlet of Rich's Lake were the ruins of a dam and lumber 




LUMBEK DAM AM) SLUICE 



sluic;', similar in construction and intended use to that of Professor 
Benedict at Fountain- Lake. The object of such structures, which occur 



20 



THE HUDSON. 



on the Upper Hudson, is to gather the logs that float from above, and 
then, by letting out the accumulated waters by the sluice, give a flood to 
the shallow, rocky outlets, sufficient to carry them all into the next lake 
below, where the process is repeated. These logs of pine, hemlock, 
cedar, and spruce, are cut upon the borders of the streams, marked on 
the emls by a single blow with a hammer, on the face of which is the 
monogram of the owner, and then cast into the waters to be gathered and 
claimed perhaps at the great boom near Glen's Falls, a hundred miles 
below. We shall again refer to this process of collecting lumber from 
the mountains. 




CHAPTER II. 




?N the old settlement of Pendleton, in the town of 
Newcomb, Essex County, we spent our second 
Sabbath. That settlement is between the 
head of Pith's Lake and the foot of Harris's 
Lake, a distance of five or six miles alous; their 
' southern shores. It derives its name from 
■1' Judge Nathaniel Pendleton, who, about fifty 
years ago, made a clearing there, and built a 
and grist, and saw-mill at the foot of Pich's 
Lake, where the lumber dam and sluice, before men- 
tioned, were afterwards made. Here was the home of 
Sabattis, our Indian guide, who owned two hundred and 
forty acres of land, with good improvements. His wife was 
a fair German woman, the mother of several children, unmistakably 
marked with Indian blood. 

It was Friday night when we arrived at the thrifty Pendleton settle- 
ment, and we resolved to spend the Sabbath there. "We found excellent 
accommodation at the farmhouse of Daniel Bissell, and, giving Preston a 
furlough for two days to visit his lately-married wife at his home, nine 
miles distant, we all went in a single boat the next day, manned by 
Sabattis alone, to visit Harris's Lake, and the confluence of its outlet 
with the Adirondack branch of the Hudson, three miles below Bissell' s. 
That lake is a beautiful sheet of water, and along the dark, sluggish 
river, above the rapids at its head, we saw the cardinal flower upon the 
banks, and the rich moose-head •'• in the water, in great abundance. 



* This, ill tlio liouks, is called Pickerel Weeil {Poiifaleria cordata of Linnaus), but the guides eull it 
moose-head. The stem is stout and cylindrical, and bears a spear-shaped leaf, somewhat cordate at tlie 
base. The flowers, which appear in July and August, are composed of dense spikes, of a rich blue 
colour. A picture of the moose-head is seen in the water beneath the initial letter at the head of 
Chapter I. 



22 



THE HUDSON. 



The rapids at the head of Harris's Lake arc very picturesque. Look- 
ing up from them, Goodenow Mountain is seen in the distance, and still 
more remote are glimpses of the Windfall range. We passed the rapids 
upon boulders, and then voyaged down to the confluence of the two 
streams just mentioned. From a rough rocky bluff a mile below that 
point, we obtained a distant view of three of the higher peaks of the 
Adirondacks— Tahawus or Mount Marcy, Mount Golden, and Mount 
M'Intyre. We returned at evening beneath a canopy of magnificent 
clouds ; and that night was made strangely luminous by one of the most 




i27'%^*=r^ 



H..ll;i. AT Tlili UEAD OF HAEKIS'S LAKE. 



Splendid displays of the Aurora Borpalis ever seen upon the continent. 
It was observed as far south as Charleston, in South Carolina. 

Sabattis is an active Methodist, and at his request (their minister not 
liaving arri\-cd) Mr. Buckingham read the beautiful liturgy of the Church 
of England on Sunday morning to a congregation of thirty or forty people, 
in the school-house on our guide's farm. In the afternoon we attended 
a prayer-meeting at the same place ; and early the next morning, while 
a storm of wind and heavy mist was sweeping over the country, started 
with our two guides, in a lumber waggon, for the Adirondack Mountains. 
Wc now left our boats, in which and on foot we had travelled, from the 



THE HUDSON. 



23 



lower Saranac to Harris's Lake, more than seventy miles. It was a 
tedious journey of twenty-six miles, most of the way over a " corduroy " 
road — a causeway of logs. On the way we passed the confluence of Lake 
Delia with the Adirondack branch of the Hudson, reached M'Intyre's Inn 
(Tahawus House, at tht3 foot of Sandford Lake) toward noon, and at two 
o'clock were at the little deserted village at the Adirondack Iron Works, 
between Sandford and Henderson Lakes. We passed near the margin of 
the former a large portion of the way. It is a beautiful body of water, 
nine miles long, with several little islands. From the road along its 




SAXDFORD LAKK. 



shores we had a flne view of the tliree great mountain peaks just 
mentioned, and of the Wall-face IMountain at the Indian Pass. At the 
house of Mr. Hunter, the only inhabitant of the deserted village, we 
dined, and then prepared to ascend the Great Tahawus, or Sky-piercer. 

The little deserted village of Adirondack, or M'Intyre, nestled in a 
rocky valley upon the Upper Hudson, at the foot of the principal moun- 
tain barrier which rises between its sources and those of the Au Sable, 
and in the bosom of an almost unbroken forest, appeared cheerful to us 
weary wanderers, although smoke was to be seen from only a solitary 



24 THE HUDSON. 



chimney. The hamlet — consisting of sixteen cT-tt-elling-houses, furnaces, 
and other edifices, and a building with a cupola, used for a school and 
public worship— -was the offspring of enterprise and capital, which many 
years before had combined to develop the mineral wealth of that region. 
That wealth Avas still there, and almost untouched — for enterprise and 
capital, compelled to contend with geographical and topographical 
impediments, have abandoned their unprofitable application of labour, 
and left the rich iron ores, apparently exhaustless in quantity, to be 
quarried and transformed in the not far-off future. 

The ores of that vicinity had never been revealed to the eye of civilised 
man until the year 1826, when David Henderson, a young Scotchman, of 
Jersey City, opposite New York, while standing near the iron-works of 
his father-in-law, Archibald M'Intyre, at North Elba, in Essex County, 
was approached by a St. Francis Indian, known in all that region as a 
brave and skilful hunter — honest, intelligent, and, like all his race, 
taciturn. The Indian took from beneath his blanket a piece of iron ore, 
and handed it to Henderson, saying, "You want to see 'um ore? Me 
fine plenty — all same." When asked where it came from, he pointed 
toward the south-west, and said, " Me hunt beaver all 'lone, and fine 
'um where water run over iron-dam." An exploring party was 
immediately formed, and followed the Indian into the deep forest. They 
slept that night at the base of the towering cliff of the Indian Pass. 
The next day they reached the head of a beautiful lake, which they 
named "Henderson," and followed its outlet to the site of Adirondack 
village. There, in a deep-shaded valley, they beheld with wonder the 
"iron dam," or dyke of iron ore, stretched across a stream, which was 
afterward found to be one of the main branches of the Upper Hudson. 
They at once explored the vicinity, and discovered that this dyke was 
connected with vast deposits of ore, which formed rocky ledges on the 
sides of the narrow valley, and presented beds of metal adequate, appa- 
rently, to the supply of the world's demand for centuries. It is believed 
that the revealer of this wealth was Peter Sabattis, the father of our 
Indian guide. 

The explorers perceived that all around that vast deposit of wealth in 
the earth was an abundant supply of hard wood, and other necessary 



THE HUDSON. 



25 



ingredients for the manufacture of iron ; and, notwithstanding it was 
thirty mik^s from any high^vay on land or water, with an uninterrupted 
sweep of forest between, and more than a hundred miles from any market, 
the entire mineral region — comprising more than a whole township — was 
purchased, and preparations were soon made to develop its resources. A 
partnership was formed between Archibald M'Intyre, Archibald Robert- 




THE iro:n dam. 



son, and David Henderson, all related by marriage ; and with sliglit aid 
from the State, they constructed a road through the wilderness, from the 
Scarron [Schroon] Valley, near Lake Champlain, to the foot of Sandford 
Lake, halfway between the head of which and the beautiful Henderson 
Lake was the " iron dam." There a settlement was commenced in 1834. 
A timber dam was constructed upon the iron one, to increase the fall of 
water, and an experimental furnace was built. Rare and most valuable 

E 



26 



THE HUDSON. 



iron was produced, equal to any from the best Swedish furnaces ; and it 
was afterward found to be capable of being wrought into steel equal to 
the best imported from England. 

The proprietors procured an act of incorporation, under the title of the 
"Adirondack Iron and Steel Company," with a capital, at first, of 
$1,000,000 (£200,000), afterward increased to $3, 000, 000 (£600,000), 
and constructed another furnace, a forge, stamping-mill, saw and grist 
mill, machine-shops, powder-house, dwellings, boarding-house, school- 
house, barns, sheds, and kilns for the manufacture of charcoal. At the 
foot of Sandford Lake, eleven miles south from Adirondack village, they 
also commenced a settlement, and named it Tahawus, where they erected 




a dam seventeen hundred feet in length, a saw-mill, warehouses, dwell- 
ings for workmen, &c. And in 1854 they completed a blast furaace near 
the upper village, at the head of Sandford Lake, at an expense of 
§43,000 (£8, COO), capable of producing fourteen tons of iron a-day. 
They also built six heavy boats upon Sandford Lake, for the transportatiou 
of freight, and roads at an expense of SlOjOOO (£2,000). Altogether 
the proprietors spent nearly half a million of dollars, or £100,000. 

Meanwhile the project of a railway from Saratoga to Sackett's Harbour, 
on Lake Ontario, to bisect the great wilderness, was conceived. A 
company was' formed, and forty miles of the road were put under contract, 
and actually graded. It would pass within a few miles of the Adirondack 



THE HUDSON. 27 



Works, and it was estimated that, with a connecting branch road, the 
iron might be conveyed to Albany for two dollars a ton, and compete 
profitably with other iron in the market. A plank road was also 
projected from Adirondack village to Preston Ponds, and down the Cold 
Eiver to the Eaqiiette, at the foot of Long Lake. 

But the labour on the road was suspended, the iron interest of the 
United States became depressed, the Adirondack Works were rendered 
not only unprofitable, but the source of heavy losses to the owners, and 
for five years their fires had been extinguished. In August, 1856, heavy 
rains in the mountains sent roaring floods down the ravines, and the 
Hudson, only a brook when Ave Avere there, was swelled to a mighty 
river. An upper dam at Adirondack gave way, and a new channel for 
the stream Avas cut, and the great dam at Tahawus, with the saw-mill, 
was demolished by the rushing Avaters. All Avas left a desolation. Over 
scores of acres at the head and foot of Sandford Lake (overfloAved when 
the dam avus constructed) Ave saAV Avliite skeletons of trees which had been 
killed by the flood, standing thickly, and heightening the dreary aspect 
of the scene. The workmen had all departed from Adirondack, and only 
Robert Hunter and his family, Avho had charge of the property, remained. 
The original proprietors were all dead, and the property, intrinsically 
valuable but immediately unproductive, was in the possession of their 
respective families. But the projected railway Avill yet be constructed, 
because it is needful for the develop :ucnt and use of that immense mineral 
and timber region, and again that foicst village will ho Advified, and the 
echoes of the deep breathings of its furnaces will be heard in the neigh- 
bouring mountains. 

At Mr. Hunter's we prepared for the rougher travel on foot through 
the mountain forests to Tahawus, ten miles distant. Here we may 
properly instruct the expectant tourist iu this region in regard to such 
preparation. Every arrangement should be as simple as possible. A 
man needs only a stout flannel hunting shii-t, coarse and trustworthy 
trousers, woollen stockings, large heaA-y boots well saturated with a com- 
position of beeswax and tallow, a soft felt hat or a cap, and strong buck- 
skin gloves. A woman needs a stout flannel dress, over shortened 
crinoline, of short dimensions, with loops and buttons to adjust its length ; 



28 



THE HUDSON. 



a hood and cape of tlie same materials, made so as to envelop the head 
and bust, and leave the arms free, -svoollen stockings, stout calfskin boots 
that cover the legs to the knee, well saturated with beeswax and tallow, 
and an india-rubber satchel for necessary toilet materials. Provisions, 
also, should be simple. The hunters' live chiefly on bread or crackers. 




DEPARTURE i'UK XAUAWUS. 



and maple sugar. The usual preparation is a sufficient stock of Boston 
crackers, pilot-bread, or common loaf-bread, butter, tea or coffee, pepper 
and salt, an ample (|uantity of maple sugar,"'*' and some salted pork, to use 
in frying or broiling fish, birds, and game. The utensils for cooking are 
a short-handled frying-pan, a broad and shallow tin pan, tin tea or coffee- 



* The luuil, 01- Siigai' Maple (Acer sacchariiutm), abounds in all parts of the State of New York. It 
is a beautiful tree, often found from fifty to eighty feet in height, and the trnnk from two to three feet 
in diameter. From the sap, which flows abundantly in the spring, delicious syrup and excellent sugai" 
are made. In the Upper Hudson region, the sap is procured by making a smaU incision with an axe, or 
a hole with an augur, into the body of the tree, into which a small tube or gutter is fastened. From 
thence the .sap flows, and is caught in rough troughs, dug out of small logs. [See the hntial letter at the 
head of C'liapter III.] It is collected into tubs, and boiled in caldron kettles. The sj-rup remains in 
buckets from twelve to twenty-four hours, and settles before straining. To make sugar it is boiled 
carefully over a slow fire. To cleanse it, the white of one egg, and one gill of luilli, are used for every 
30 lbs. or 40 lbs. of sugar. Some settlers manufactiu'e a considerable quantity of sugar every year, as 
much as from 300 lbs. tj 600 lbs. 



THE HUDSON. 



29 



pot, tin plates aud "cups, knives, forks, and spoons. These, with shawls 
or oA'ercoats, and india-rubber capes to keep off the rain, the gaiides will 
carry, with gun, axe, and fishing-tackle. Sportsmen who expect to camp 
out some time, should take with them a light tent. The guides will fish, 
hunt, Avork, build "camps," and do all other necessary service, for a 
moderate compensation and theii- food. It is proper here to remark that 
the tourist should never enter this wilderness earlier than the middle of 
August. Then the flies and mosquitoes, the intolerable pests of the 
forests, are rapidly disappearing, and fine weather may be expected. The 
sportsman must go in June or July for trout, and in October for deer. 

"Well prepared with all necessaries excepting flannel over-shirts, we set 
out from Adirondack on the afternoon of the 30th of August, our guides 




FIRST BEIDGE OVEK THE HUDSOJf. 



with their pa(.;ks leading the way. The morning had been misty, but the 
atmosphere was then clear and cool. "We crossed the Hudson three-fourths 
of a mile below Henderson Lake, upon a rude bridge, made our way 
through a clearing tangled with tall raspberry shrubs full of fruit, for 
nearly half a mile, and then entered the deep and solemn forest, composed 
of birch, maple, cedar, hemlock, spruce, aud tall pine trees. Our way 
Aras over a level for three-fourths of a mile, to the outlet of Calamity 
Pond. AYe crossed it at a beautiful cascade, and then commenced ascend- 



80 



THE HUDSON. 



iug by a sinuous mouutaiu path, across wliich many a huge tree had been 
cast by the wind. It was a weary journey of almost four miles (notwith- 
standing it lay along the track of a lane cnt through the forest a few 
years ago for a special purpose, of which we shall presently speak), for in 
many places the soil avus hidden by boulders covered with thick moss, 
over which we were compelled to climb. Towards sunset we reached a 
pleasant little lake, embosomed in the dense forest, its low wet mai-gin 
fringed with brilliant yellow Howers, beautiful in form but without 
perfume. At the head of that littlr lakr, where the inlet comes flowing 











BARK CABIN AT CALAMITY POM). 



sluggishly from a dark ravine .scooped from the mountain slope, Ave built 
a bark cabin, and encamped for the night. 

That tiny lake is called Calamity Pond, in commemoration of a sad 
circumstance that occurred near the spot Avhere we erected our cabin, in 
September, 1845. Mr. Henderson, of the Adirondack Iron Company, 
ali-eady mentioned, was there Avith his son and other attendants. Kear 
the margin of the inlet is a flat rock. On this, as he landed from a scow, 
Mr. Henderson attempted to lay his pistol, holding the muzzle in his 
hand. It discharged, and the contents entering his body, wounded him 
mortally : he lived only hulf-an-hour. .A rude bier was constructed of 



THE HUDSON. 






boughs, on -whicli his body was carried to Adirondack village. It was 
taken down Sandford Lake in a boat to Tahawus, and from thence again 
carried on a bier through the wilderness, fifteen miles to the western 
termination of the road from Scarron valley, then in process of construc- 
tion. From thence it was conveyed to his home at Jersey City, and a few 
years afterward his family erected an elegant monument upon the rock 
whei'e he lost his life. It is of the light New Jersey sandstone, eight feet 
in height, and bears the following inscription: — "This monument was 
erected by filial affection to the memory of David endersox, who lost 




HENDERSON'S MONUMENT. 



his life on this spot, 3rd September, 1845." Beneath the inscription, in 
high relief, is a chalice, book, and anchor. 

Tlio lane through the woods just mentioned was cut for the purpose of 
allowing the transportation of this monument upon a sledge in winter, 
drawn by oxen. All the way the road was made passable by packing 
the snow between the boulders, and in this labour several days were con- 
sumed. The monument weighs a ton. 

While Preston and myself were building tlie bark cabin, in a manner 
similar to the bush one already described, and Mrs. Lossing was preparing 
a place upon the clean grass near the fire for our supper, ^Ir. Buckingliam 
and Sabattis went out upon the lake on a rough raft, and caught over two 



32 THE HUDSON. 



dozen trout. Tpon these we supped and breakfasted. The night was 
cold, and at early dawn wo found the hoar-frost lying upon every leaf and 
blade around us. Beautiful, indeed, was that dawning of the last day of 
summer. From the south-west came a gentle breeze, bearing upon its 
wings light yapoiu', that flecked the whole sky, and became roseate in hue 
when the sun touched with purple light the summit of the hills westward 
of us. These towered in grandeur more than a thousand feet above the 
surface of the lake, from which, in the kindling morning light, went up, 
in myriads of spiral threads, a mist, softly as a spirit, and melted in the 
first sunbeam. 

At eight o'clock we resumed our journey over a much rougher way than 
we had yet travelled, for there was nothing but a dim and obstructed 
hunter's trail to follow. This we pursued nearly two miles, when we 
struck the outlet of Lake Golden, at its confluence with the Opalescent 
lliver, that comes rushing down in continuous rapids and cascades from 
the foot of Tahawus. The lake was only a few rods distant. Intending 
to visit it on our return, we contented ourselves with brief glimpses of it 
through the trees, and of tall Mount Golden, or Mount M'Martin, that 
rises in magnificence from its eastern shore. 

The drought that still prevailed over northern New York and New 
England had so diminished the volume of the Opalescent lliver, that 
we walked more than four miles in the bed of the stream i:pon boulders 
which fill it. We crossed it a hundred times or more, picking oi;r way, 
and sometimes compelled to go into the woods in passing a cascade. The 
stream is broken into falls and swift rapids the whole distance that we 
followed it, and, when full, it must present a grand spectacle. At one 
place the river had assumed the bed of a displaced trap dyke, by whicli 
the rock has been intersected. The walls are perpendicular, and only a 
few feet apart — so near that the branches of the trees on the summits 
interlace. Through this the water rushes for several rods, and then 
leaps into a dark chasm, full fifty feet perpendicular, and emerges 
among a mass of immense boulders. The Indians called this cascade 
Shc-gwi-en-dmohwe, or the Hanging Spear. A short distance above is a 
wild rapid, which they called Kas-hong-shadi, or Broken Water. 

The stones in this river vary in size, from tiny pebbles to boulders 



THE HUDSON. 



33 



of a thousand tons ; the smaller ones made smooth by rolling, the larger 
ones, yet angular and massive, persistently defying the rushing torrent 
in its maddest career. They are composed chiefly of the beautiful 
labradorite, or opalescent feldspar, which form the great mass of the 
Aganus-chion, or Black Mountain 
range, as the Indians called this 
Adirondack group, because of the 
dark aspect -which their sombre 
cedars, and spruce, and cliff's present 
at a distance. The bed of the stream 
is full of that exquisitely beautiful 
mineral. AVe saw it glittering in 
splendour, in pebbles and large 
boulders, wheji the sunlight fell full 
upon the shallow water. A rich blue 
is the predominant colour, some- 
times mingled with a brilliant 
green. Gold and bronze-coloured 
specimens have been discovered, and, 
occasionally, a completely iridescent 
piece may be found. It is to the 
abundance of these stones that the 
river is indebted for its beautiful 
name. It is one of the main sources 
of the Hudson, and falls into Sand- 
ford Lake, a few miles below 
Adirondack village. 

"We followed the Opalescent River 
to the foot of the Peak of Tahawus, 
on the borders of the high valley 

which separates that mountain from Mount Golden, at an elevation nine 
hundred feet above the highest peaks of the Cattskill range on the Lower 
Hudson. There the water is very cold, the forest trees are somewhat 
stunted and thickly planted, and the solitude complete. The silence was 
almo:-t oppressive. Game-liinls and beasts of the chase arc there almost 

V 




FALL IN THE OP.VLESCENT RIVER. 



34 



THE HUDSON. 



luikuown. The wild cat and wolveriuc alone prowl over that lofty valley, 
where rises one of the chief fountains of the Hudson, and we heard the 
voice of no living creature excepting the hoarse croak of the raven. 

It was neon when we reached this point of departure for the summit of 
Tahawus. We had been four hours travelling six miles, and yet in that 
pure mountain air we felt very little fatigue. There we found an 
excellent bark -'camp," and traces of recent occupation. Among them 





CLIMEI.NG TAIIAWIS. 



was part of a metropolitan newspaper, and light ashes. We dined upon 
bread and butter and maple sugar, in a sunny spot in front of the cabin, 
and then commenced the ascent, leaving our provisions and other things 
at the camp, where we intended to repose for the night. The journey 
upward was two miles, at an angle of forty-five degrees to the base of the 
rocky pinnacle. Wc had no path to follow. The guides " blazed " the 
larger trees (striking off chips with their axes), that they might with 
more ease find their way back to the camp. Almost the entire surface 



THE HUDSON. 



35 



^1 



was covered with boulders, shrouded in the most beautiful alpiuc mosses. 
From among these shot up dwarfing pines and spruces, which diminished 
in height at every step. Through their thick horizontal branches it Avas 
difficult to pass. Here and there among the rocks was a free spot, where 
the bright trifoliolate oxalis, or wood-sorrel, flourished, and the shrub of 
the wild currant, and gooseberry, and the tree-cranberry appeared. At 
length we reached the foot of the open rocky pinnacle, where only thick 
mosses, lichens, a few alpine plants, and little groves of dwarfed balsam, 
are seen. The latter trees, not more than five feet in height, are^ most of 
them, centenarians. Their stems, not larger than a strong man's wrist, 
exhibited, when cut, over one hun- 
dred concentric rings, each of which ^ ^^ _ 
indicates the growth of a year. Our ^ - ^=^=^ ^ 
journey now became still more diffi- 
cult, at the same time more interest- 
ing, for, as we emerged from the 
forest, the magnificent panorama of 
mountains that lay around us burst 
upon the vision. Along steep rocky 
slopes and ledges, and around and 
beneath huge stones a thousand tons 
in weight, some of them apparently 
poised, as if ready for a sweep down 
the moimtain, wc made our way 
cautiously, having at times no other 
support than the strong moss, and 
occasionally a gnarled shrub that 
sprung from the infrequent fissures, 
where the dwarf balsams grow. Upon one of these, within a hundred 
feet of the summit, we found a spring of very cold water, and near it 
quite thick ice. This spring is one of the remote sources of the Hudson. 
It bubbles from the base of a huge mass of loose rocks (which, like all 
the other portions of the peak, are composed of the beautiful labrado- 
rite), and sends down a little stream into the Opalescent Eiver, from 
whose bed we had just ascended. Mr. Buekingliara had now gained 




bPRINC; ox THE TEAK OF TAHAWl S. 

"We rested upon small terraces, 



36 



THE HUDSON. 



the summit, and waved his hat, in token of triumph, and a few minutes 
later wo were at his side, forgetful, in the exhilaration of the moment, 
of every fatigue and danger that we had encountered. Indeed it was a 
triumph for us all, for few persons have ever attempted the ascent of that 
mountain, lying in a deep wilderness, hard to penetrate, the nearest point 
of even a bridle path, on the side of our approach, being ten miles from 
the base of its peak. Especially difficult is it for the feet of woman to 
reach the lofty summit of the Shy-piercer — almost six thousand feet 
above the sea — for her skirts form great impediments. Mrs. Lossing, we 
were afterwards informed by the oldest hunter and guide in all that 




JlOfcPlCj; O^' THE I'ICAK OF 'lAllAWl: 



region (John Clieney), is only the third woman who has ever accomplished 
the difficult feat. 

The summit of Tahawus is bare rock, about four hundred feet in leiigth 
and one hundred in breadth, with an elevation of ten or twelve feet at 
the south-western end, that may be compared to the heel of an upturned 
boot, the remainder of the surface forming the sole. In a nook on the 
southern side of this heel, was a small hut, made of loose stones gathered 
from the summit, and covered with moss. It was erected the previous 
year by persons from New York, and had been occupied by others a fort- 



THE HUDSON. 37 



uiglit before our visit. Within the hut vro found a piece of paper, on 
which was written : — " This hospice, erected by a party from New York, 
August 19, 1858, is intended for the use and comfort of visitors to 
Tahawus.— F. S. P.— M. C.—F. M. N." Under this was written :— 
" This hospice was occupied over night of August 14, 1859, by A. G. C. 
and T. E.. D. Sun rose fourteen minutes to five." Under this : — 
'* Tahawus House Eegistee, August 14, 1859, Alfred G. Compton, and 
Theodore R. Davis, New York. August 16, Charles Newman, Stamford, 
Connecticut ; Charles Bedfield, Elizabeth Town, New York." To these 
we added our own names, and those of the guides. 

Our view from the summit of Tahawus will ever form one of the most 
remarkable pictures in memory ; and yet it may not properly be called a 
picture. It is a topographical map, exhibiting a surface diversified by 
mountains, lakes, and valleys. The day was very pleasant, yet a cold 
north-westerly wind was sweeping over the summit of the mountain. A 
few clouds, sufiicient to cast fine shadows upon the earth, were floating 
not far above us, and on the cast, when we approached the summit at 
three o'clock, an iridescent mist was slightly veiling a group of mountains, 
from their thick wooded bases in the valleys, to their bold rocky summits. 
Our stand-point being the highest in all that region, there was nothing 
to obstruct the view. To-ivar-loon-dah, or Hill of Storms (Mount 
Emmons), Ou-hor-lah, or Big Eye (Mount Seward), Wah-o-par-te-nie, or 
"White-face Mountain, and the Giant of the Yalley — all rose peerless above 
the other hills around us, excepting Colden and M'Intyre, that stood 
apparently within trumpet-call of Tahawus, as fitting companions, but 
over whose summits, likewise, we could look away to the dark forests of 
Franklin and St. Lawrence Counties, in the far north-west. Northward 
we could see the hills melting into the great St. Lawrence level, out of 
which arose the Royal Mountain back of the city of Montreal. Eastward, 
full sixty miles distant, lay the magnificent Green Mountains, that give 
name to the state of Ycrmont, and through a depression of that range, 
we saw distinctly the great Mount AVashington among the White Hills 
of New Hampshire, one hundred and fifty miles distant. Southward the 
view was bounded by the higher peaks of the Cattskills, or Ivatzbergs, 
and westward by the mountain ranges in Hamilton and Herkimer 



38 - THE HUDSON. 



Counties. At our feet reposed the great wilderness of northern New 
York, full a hundred miles in length, and eight}' in breadth, lying in parts 
of seven counties, and equal in area to several separate smaller States of 
the Union. On every side bright lakes were gleaming, some nestling in 
unbroken forests, and others with their shores sparsely dotted with clear- 
ings, from which arose the smoke from the settler's cabin. We counted 
twenty-seven lakes, including Champlain — the Indian Can-i-a-de-ri Gua- 
rwi-te, or Door of the Country — which stretched along the eastern view 
one hundred and forty miles, and at a distance of about fifty miles at the 
nearest point. We could see the sails of water-craft like white specks 
upon its bosom, and, with our telescope, could distinctly discern the 
houses in Burlington, on the eastern shore of the lake. 

Prom our point of view we could comprehend the emphatic significance 
of the Indian idea of Lake Champlain — the Door of the Gountri/. It fills 
the bottom of an immense valley, that stretches southward between the 
great mountain ranges of New York and New England, from the 
St. Lawience level toward the valley of the Hudson, from which it is 
separated by a slightly elevated ridge. ^' To the fierce Huron of Canada, 
who loved to make war upon the more southern Iroquois, this lake was a 
wide open door for his passage. Through it many brave men, aborigines 
and Europeans, have gone to the war-paths of New York and New 
England, never to return. ' 

Standing upon Tahawus, it required very little exercise of the imagi- 
nation to behold the stately procession of historic men and events, passing 
through that open door. Eirst in dim shadows were the dusky warriors 



* In tlie introduction to his iinblisheil seniion, preac-hea sit Plymouth, in New Enghinil, in the j-ear 
1621 (and tlie first ever preached there), the Eev. Robert Ciishniau, speaking of that country, says : — 
" So far as we can find, it is an island, and near about the quantity of England, being cut out from the 
mainland in America, as England is from the main of Europe, by a gi-eat arm of the sea [Hudson's 
Kiver], which enterelh in forty degrees, and runneth up norlh-west and by west, and goeth out, either 
i)ito the South Sea [Pacific Ocean], or else into the Bay of Canada [the Gulf of St. Lawrence]." The 
old divine was nearly right in his conjecture that New England was an island. It is a peninsula, 
connected to the main by a very narrow isthmus, the extremities of which are at the villages of 
Whitehall, on Lake Champlain, and Fort Edward, on the Hudson, about twenty-five miles apart. The 
lowest portion of that isthmus is not more than fifty feet above Lake Cliamplain, whose waters are only 
ninety above the sea. This isthmus is made still narrower by the waters of Wood Creek, which tlow 
into Lake Cliamplain, and of Fort Edward Creek, which empty into the Hudson. These are navif;ible 
for light canoes, at some seasons of the year, to within a mile and a-half of each other. The canal, 
which now connects the Hudson and Lake Champlain, really makes New England an island. 



THE HUDSON. 39 



of tlii3 uute-Columbiau period, darting swiftly tlirougli in their baik 
canoes, intent upon blood and plunder. Then came Champlain and his 
men [1609], with guns and sabres, to aid the Hurons in contests with 
the Adirondacks and other Iroquois at Crown Point and Ticonderoga. 
Then came French and Indian allies, led by Marin [1745], passing 
swiftly through that door, and sweeping with terrible force down the 
Hudson valley to Saratoga, to smite the Dutch and English settlers there. 
Again French and Indian warriors came, led by Montcalm, Dieslcau, and 
others [1755-1759], to drive the English from that door, and secure it 
for the house of Bourbon. A little later came troops of several 
nationalities, with Burgoyne at their head [1777], rushing through that 
door with power, driving^ American republicans southward, like chaff 
before the wind, and sweeping victoriously down the valley of the Hudson 
to Saratoga and beyond. And, lastly, came another British force, with 
Sir George Prevost at their head [1814], to take possession of that door, 
but were turned back at the northern threshold with discomfiture. In 
the peaceful present that door stands wide open, and people of all nations 
may pass through it unquestioned. But the Indian is seldom seen at the 
portal. 



CHAPTER III. 




...jJ-mIIE cold increased every moment as the sun declined, 
Jii j| and, after remaining on the summit of Tahawus 



only an hour, ■sve descended to the Opalescent 
lliver, "o-here we encamped for the night. To- 
ward morning there was a rain-shower, and the 
water came trickling upon us through the light 
hark roof of our " camp." But the clouds broke 
at sunrise, and, excepting a copious shower of 
small hail, and one or two of light rain, we had 
pleasant weather the remainder of the day. We de- 
scended the Opalescent in its rocky hed, as we went up, 
and at noon dined on the margin of Lake Golden, just 
after a slight shower liad passed by, 

"We were now at an elevation of almost three thousand 
feet above tide water. In lakes Golden and Avalanche, which lie close 
to each other, there are no fishes. Only lizards and leeches occupy 
their cold waters. All is silent and solitary there. The bald eagle 
sweeps over them occasionally, or perches upon a lofty pine, but the 
mournful voice of the Great Loon, or Diver [Cohjmlus glacialis), heard 
over all the waters of northern New York and Ganada, never awakens 
the echoes of these solitary lakes.* These waters lie in a high basin 
between the Mount Golden and Mount M'Intyre ranges, and have 
experienced great changes. Avalanche Lake, evidently once a part of 
Lake Golden, is about eighty feet higher than the latter, and more than 
two miles from it. They have been separated by, perhaps, a series of 
avalanches, or mountain slides, which still occur in that region. From 



* The water view in the pietm-o of the Locn is a scene oil Harris's Lalie, with Goodenow Mounttuu 
in the dislaiijo. 



THE HUDSON. 



41 



the top of Tahawus we saw the white glare of several, striping the sides 
of mountain cones. 

At three o'clock we reached our camp at Calamity Pond, and just 
before sunset emerged from the forest into the open fields near Adiron- 
dack village, where wo regaled ourselves with the bountiful fruitage of 
the raspberry shrub. At Mr. Hunter's we found kind and generous 
entertainment, and at an early hour tlie next morning we started for the 
great Indian Pass, four miles distant. 

Half a mile from Henderson Lake we crossed its outlet upon a pictu- 
resque bridge, and following a causeway another half a mile through a 




clearing, we penetrated the forest, and struck one of the chief branches 
of the Tipper Hudson, that comes from the rocky chasms of that Pass. 
Our journey was much more difficult than to Tahawus. The under- 
growth of the forest was more dense, and trees more frequently lay 
athwart the dim trail. We crossed the stream several times, and, as we 
ascended, the valley narrowed until we entered the rocky gorge between 
tlie steep slopes of Mount M'Intyre and the cliffs of Wall-face Mountain. 
There we encountered enormous masses of rocks, some worn by the 
abrasion of the elements, some angular, some bare, and some covered 
with moss, and many of them bearing large trees, whose roots, clasping 



42 



THE HUDSON. 



them on all sides, strike into the earth for sustenance. One of the 
masses presented a singular appearance ; it is of cubic form, its summit 
full thirty feet from its base, and upon it was quite a grove of hemlock 
and cedar trees. Around and partly under this and others lying loosely, 
apparently kept from rolling by roots and vines, we were compelled to 
clamber a long distance, when we reached a point more than one hundred 




LAKE COLliliN. 



feet above the bottom of the gorge, where we could see the famous pass 
in all its wild grandeur. Before us arose a perpendicular cliif, nearly 
twelve hundred feet from base to summit, as raw in appearance as if cleft 
only yesterday. Above us sloped M'Intyre, still more lofty than the 
cliff of Wall-face, and in the gorge lay huge piles of rock, chaotic in 
position, grand in dimensions, and awful in general aspect. They appear 



THE HUDSON. 



43 



to have been cast in there by some terrible convulsion not very remote. 
Witliin the memory of Sabattis, this region has been shaken by an earth- 
quake, and no doubt its power, and the lightning, and the frost, have 
hurled these masses from that impending cliff. Through these the 
waters of this branch of the Hudson, bubbling from a spring not far 
distant (close by a fountain of the Au Sable), find their way. Here the 
head- waters of this river commingle in the Spring season, and when they 
separate they find their way to the Atlantic Ocean, as we have observed, 










OUTLET OF HEKDEESON LAKE. 



at points a thousand miles apart. The margin of the stream is too rugged 
and cavernous in the Pass for human footsteps to follow. 

Just at the lower entrance to the gorge, on the margin of the little 
brook, we dined, and then retraced our steps to the village, stopping on 
the Avay to view the dreary swamp at the head of Henderson Lake, 
where the Hudson, flowing from the Pass, enters it. "Water, and not fire, 
has blasted the trees, and their erect stems and prostrate branches, white 
and ghost-like in appearance, make a tangled covering over many acres. 

That night we slept soundly again at Mr. Hunter's, and in the morn- 
ing left in a waggon for the valley of the Scarron. During the past four 
days we had travelled thirty miles on foot in the tangled forest, camped 



44 



THE HUDSON. 



out two nights, and seen some of nature's wildest and grandest lineaments. 
These mountain and lake districts, which form the wilderness of northern 
New York, give to the tourist most exquisite sensations, and the physical 
system appears to take in health at every pore. Invalids go in with 
hardly strength enough to reach some quiet log-house in a clearing, and 
come out with strong quick pulse and elastic muscles. Every year the 
number of tourists and sportsmen who go there rapidly increases, and 
women begin to find more pleasure aud health in that wilderness than at 
fashionable watering-places. No wild country in the world can offer 




TEEES 0\ BOITLDEE'. 



more solid attractions to those who desire to spend a few weeks of leisui'e 
away from the haunts of men. Pure air and water, and game in 
abundance, may there be found, while in all that region not a venomous 
reptile or poisonous plant may be seen, and the beasts of prey are too few 
and shy to cause the least alarm to the most timid. The climate is 
dcliglitful, and there are fertile valleys among those rugged hills that 
will yet smile in beauty under the cultivator's hand. It has been called 
by the uninforuicd the " Siberia of New York ;" it may more properly 
be called the " Switzerland of the United States." 



THE HUDSON. 



45 



The wind came from among the mountains in fitful gusts, thick mists 
were sweeping around the peaks and through the gorges, and there were 
frequent dashes of rain, sometimes falling like showers of gold, in the 
sunlight that gleamed through the broken clouds, on the morning when 
we left Adirondack village. We had hired a strong wjiggon, with three 
spring seats, and a team of experienced horses, to convey us from the 
heart of the wilderness to the Scarron valley, thirty miles distant, and 
after breakfast we left the kind family of Mr. Hunter, accompanied by 
Sabattis and Preston, who rode with us most of the way for ten miles, in 




the direction of their homes. Our driver was the owner of the team — a 
careful, intelligent, good-natured man, who lived near Tahawus, at the 
foot of Sand ford Lake. But in all our experience in travelling, we never 
endured such a journey. The highway, for at least twenty-four of the 
thii'ty miles, is what is technically called corduroy — a sort of corrugated 
stripe of logs ten feet wide, laid through the woods, and dignified with 
the title of " The State road." It gives to a waggon the jolting motion 
of the " dyspeptic chair," and in that way we were " exercised " all day 
long, except when dining at the Tahawus House, on some wild pigeons 



4G 



THE HUDSON. 



shot by SaLuttis on the way. That iun was upon the road, near the site 
of Tahawus vinagc, at the foot of Sandford Lake, and was a half-way 
house between Long Lake and Root's Inn in the Scarron valley, toward 
Avhich we were travelling. There we parted with our excellent guides, 
after giving them a sincere assurance that we should recommend all 
tourists and hunters, who may visit the head waters of the Hudson, to 
procure their services, if possible. 

About a mile on our way from the Tahawus House, we came to the 
dwelling and farm of John Cheney, the oldest and most famous hunter 




HENDERSON'S LAKE. 



and guide in all that region. He then seldom went far into the woods, 
for he was beginning to feel the effects of age and a laborious life. "We 
called to pay our i-espects to one so widely known, and yet so isolated, 
and were disappointed. He was away on a short hunting excursion, for 
he loves the forest and the chase with all the enthusiasm of his young 
manhood. He is a slightly-built man, about sixty years of age. He 
was the guide for the scientific corps, who made a geological reconnoissance 
of that region many years before, and for a quarter of a century he had 
there battled the elements and the beasts with a strong arm and unflinch- 
ing will. Many of the tales of his experience arc full of the Avildest 



THE HUDSON. 47 



romance, and vro hoped to liear tlie narrative of some adventure from his 
own lips. 

For many years John carried no other weapons than a huge jack-knife 
and a pistoh One of the most stirring of his thousand adventures in tlie 
woods is connected with the liistory of that pistoh It has been rehated 
by an acquaintance of the writer, a man of rare genius, and Avho, for 
many years, has been an inmate of an asyhim for the insane, in a neigh- 
bouring State. John Cheney was his guide more than twenty years 
before our visit. The tirr:e of the adventure aUuded to w^as winter, and 
the snow hiy four feet deep in the woods. John went out upon snow- 
shoes, with his rifle and dogs. He wandered far from the settlement, and 
made his bed at night in the deep snow. One morning he arose to 
examine his traps, near which he would lie encamped for weeks in 
complete solitude. When hovering around one of them, he discovered a 
famished wolf, who, unappallcd by the huntei", retired only a few steps, 
and then, turning round, stood watching his movements. "I ought, by 
rights," said John, "to have waited for my two dogs, who could not have 
been far off, but the cretur looked so sassy, standing there, that though 1 
had not a bullet to spare, I could not help letting into him with my 
rifle." John missed his aim, and the animal gave a spring, as he was in 
the act of firing, and turned instantly upon him before he could reload 
his piece. So eff'ective was the unexpected attack of the wolf, that his 
fore-paws were upon Cheney's snow-shoes before he could rally for the 
fight. The forester became entangled in the deep drift, and sank upon 
his back, keeping the wolf at bay only by striking at him with his 
clubbed rifle. The stock of it was broken into pieces in a few moments, 
and it would have fared ill with the stark woodsman if the wolf, instead 
of making at his enemy's throat when he had him thus at disadvantage, 
had not, with blind fury, seized the barrel of the gun in his jaws. Still 
the fight was unequal, as John, half buried in the snow, could make use 
of but one of his hands. He shouted to his dogs, but one of them only, a 
young, untrained hound, made his appearance. Emerging from a thicket 
he caught sight of his master, lying apparently at the mercy of the 
ravenous beast, uttered a yell of fear, and fled howling to the woods 
again. <*Had I had one shot left," said Cheney, " I would have given 



48 



THE HUDSON. 



it to that dog instead of dispatching the wolf with it." In the exaspe- 
ration of the moment John might have extended his contempt to the 
whole canine race, if a stauncher friend had not, at the moment, inter- 
posed to vindicate their character for courage and fidelity. All this 
had passed in a moment ; the wolf was still grinding the iron gun-barrel 
in his teeth — he had even once wrenched it from the hand of the hunter 
— when, dashing like a thunderbolt between the combatants, the other 
hound sprang over his master's body, and seized the wolf by the throat. 
" There was no let go about that dog when he once took hold," said John. 
" If the barrel had been red hot the wolf couldn't have dropped it 
quicker, and it would have done you good, I tell you, to see that old dog 
drag the cretur's head down in the snow, while I, just at my leisure, 
drove the iron into his skull. One good, fair blow, though, with a heavy 
rifle barrel, on the back of the head, finished him. The fellow gave a 
kind o' quiver, stretched out his hind legs, and then he was done for. I 
had the rifle stocked afterwards, but she would never shoot straight since 
that fight, so I got me this pistol, which, being light and handy, enables 
me more conveniently to carry an axe upon my long tramps, and make 
myself comfortable in the woods." 

Many a deer has John since killed with that pistol. *'It is curious," 
said the narrator, " to see him draw it from the left pocket of his grey 
shooting-jacket, and bring down a partridge. I have myself witnessed 
several of his successful shots with this unpretending shooting-iron, and 
once saw him knock the feathers from a wild duck at fifty yards." 

Most of our journey toward the Searron was quite easy for the horses, 
for we were descendiug the great Champlain slope. The roughness of the 
road compelled us to allow the team to walk most of the way. The 
country was exceedingly picturesque. For miles our track lay through 
the solitary forest, its silence disturbed only by the sound of a mountain 
brook, or the voices of the wind among the hills. The winding road was 
closely hemmed by trees and shrubs, and sentineled by lofty pines, and 
birches, and tamaracks, many of them dead, and ready to fall at the touch 
of the next strong wind. Miles apart were the rude cabins of the settlers, 
until Ave came out upon a high, rolling valley, surrounded by a magnificent 
amphitheatre of hills. Through that valley, from a little lake toward 



THE HUDSON-. 



49 



the sources of the Au Sable, flo\Ys the cold and rapid Boreas River, one 
of the chief tributaries of the Ujiper Hudson. The view was now grand : 
all around us stood the great hills, wooded to their summits, and over- 
looking deep valleys, wherein tlie primeval forest had never been touched 
by axe or fire ; and on the right, through tall trees, Ave had glimpses of 
an irregular little lake, called Cheney Pond. For three or four miles 
after passing the Boreas we went over a most dreary " clearing," dotted 
with blackened stumps and boulders as thick as hail, a cold north-west 
wind driving at our backs. In the midst of it is "Wolf Pond, a dark 





)Ui' OF ailE WILI)EKXES8. 



water fringed with a tangled growth of alders, shrubs, and creepers, and 
made doubly gloomy by hundreds of dead trees, that shoot up from the 
cJiapparal. 

This was the " darkness just before daylight," for we soon struck a 
branch of the Scarron, rushing in cascades through a rocky ravine, along 
whose banks -we found an excellent road. The surrounding country was 
very rugged in appearance. The rocky hills had been denuded by fire, 
and everything in nature presented a strong contrast to the scene that 
burst upon the vision at sunset, when, from the brow of a hill, we saw 
the beautiful Scarron valley smiling before us. In a few minutes we 

n 



50 THE HUDSON. 



crossed the Scarron Eiver over a covered bridge, and found ourselves 
fairly out of the wilderness, at a new and spacious inn, kept by Russell 
Root, a small, active, and obliging man, well known all over that northern 
country. His house was the point of departure and arrival for those who 
take what may be called the lower route to and from the hunting and 
fishing grounds of the Upper Hudson, and the group of lakes beyond. 
Over his door a pair of enormous moose horns formed an appropriate sign- 
board, for he was both quarter-master and commissary of sportsmen in 




MOOSK llORKS. 



that region. At his house everything necessary for the woods and waters 
might bo obtained. 

The Scarron, or Schroon River, is the eastern branch of the Hudson. 
It rises in the heart of Essex County, and flowing southward into Warren 
county, receiving in its course the waters of Paradox and Scarron, or 
Schroon Lake, and a large group of ponds, forms a confluence, near 
Warrcnsburg, with the main waters of the Hudson, that come down from 
the Adirondack region. The name of Schroon for this branch is fixed in 
the popular mind, appears in books and on maps, and is heard upon every 
lip. It is a corruption of Scarron, the name given to the lake by Frcncli 
officers, who were stationed at Port St. Frcdciick, on Crown Point, at 
the middle of the last century. In their rambles in the wilderness on the 
w^estern shore of Lake Champlain, they discovered a beautiful lake, and 
named it in gallant homage to the memory of the widow of the poet 
Scarron, who, as Madame dc Maintenon, became the queen of Louis XIV. 
of Prance. The name was afterwards applied to the river, and the 



THE HUDSON. 



51 



modern cornipt orthograpliy aud pronimcTatiou wore unknown before the 
present century, at the beginning of which settlements were first com- 
menced in that region. In the face of legal documents, common speech, 
and maps, we may rightfully call it Scarron ; for the antiquity and 
respectability of an error are not valid excuses for perpetuating it. 

From Eoot's we rode down the yalley to the pleasant little village on 
the western shore of Scarron Lake. We turned aside to visit the beautiful 
Paradox Lake, nestled among Avoodcd hills a short distance from the river. 
It is separated from Scarron Lake by a low alluvial drift, and is so nearly 




OLTLJiT ViT 1"AI!AD0X LAKi:. 



ou a level with the river into which it empties, that when torrents from 
the hills swell the waters of that stream, a current flows back into 
Paradox Lake, making its OH^let an mlet for the time. From this circum- 
stance it received its name. "We rode far up its high southern shore to 
enjoy many fine views of the lake and its surroundings, and returning, 
lunched in the shadows of trees at a rustic bridge that spans its outlet a 
fcAV rods below the lake. 

Scarron Lake is a beautiful sheet of water, ten miles in length, and 
about a mile in average width. It is ninety miles north of Albany, and 
lies partly in Essex and partly in Warren County. Its aspect is interest- 



52 



THE HUDSON. 



ing from every point of view. The gentle slopes on its western shore are 
well cultivated and thickly inhabited, the result of sixty years' settlement, 
but on its eastern shore are precipitous and rugged hills, which extend in 
wild and picturesque succession to Lake Champlain, fifteen or twenty 
miles distant. In the bosom of these hills, and several hundred feet 
above the Scarron, lies Lake Pharaoh, a body of cold water surrounded 
by dark mountains, and near it is a large cluster of ponds, all of which 
find a receiving reservoir in Scarron Lake, and make its outlet a large 
stream. 

In the lake directly in front of Scarron village is an elliptical island, 




ISOLA BELLA. 



containing about one hundred acres. It was purchased a few years ago 
by Colonel A. L. Ireland, a wealthy gentleman of jS'ew York, who went 
there in search of health, and who spent large sums of money in subduing 
the savage features of tlic island, erecting a pleasant summer mansion 
upon it, and in changing the rough and forbidding aspect of the whole 
domain into one of beauty and attractiveness. Taste and labour had 
wrought wonderful changes there, and its appearance justified the title it 
bore of Isola Bella — the Indian Civj-ua-noot. The mansion was cruciform, 



1 



THE HUDSON. 53 



and delightfully situated. In front of it were tastefully ornamented 
grounds, with, vistas through the forest trees, tliat afforded glimpses of 
charming lake, landscape, and distant mountain scenery. Within were 
evidences of elegant refinement — a valuable library, statuary, bronzes, 
and some rare paintings. Among other sketclies was a picture of Hale 
Hall, in Lancashire, England — the ancestral dwelling of Colonel Ireland, 
who is a lineal descendant of 8ir John de Ireland, a Norman baron who 
accompanied William the Conqueror to England, was at the battle of 
Hastings, and received from the monarch a large domain, upon which he 
built a castle. On the site of that castle, Hale Hall was erected by Sir 
Gilbert Ireland, who was a member of parliament, and lord-lieutenant of 
his county. Hale Hall remains in possession of the family. 

We Avere conveyed to Isola Bella in a skiff, rowed by two watermen, 
in the face of a stiff breeze that ruffled the lake, and it was almost sunset 
when we returned to the village of Scarron Lake. It was Saturday 
evening, and avc remained at tlie village until Monday morning, and then 
rode down the pleasant valley to Warrensburg, near the junction of the 
Scarron and the Avest branch of tlie Hudson, a distance of almost thirty 
miles. It was a very delightful ride, notwithstanding we Avere menaced 
by a storm. Our road lay first along the cultivated western margin of 
the lake, and thence through a rolling valley, from which Ave caught 
occasional glimpses of the river, sometimes near and sometimes distant. 
The journey occupied a greater portion of the day. We passed two 
quiet A'illages, named respectively Pottersville and Chester. The latter, 
the larger of the tAVO, is at the outlet of Loon and Eriendshi]? Lakes — 
good fishing places, a fcAV miles distant. Both villages are points upon 
the State road, from Avhich sportsmen depart for the adjacent woods and 
Avaters. An hour's ride from either place will put them Avithin the 
borders of the great wilderness, and beyond the sounds of the settlements. 

Warrensburg is situated partly upon a high plain and partly upon a 
slope that stoops to a bend of the Scarron, about two miles above its 
confluence with the west branch of the Hudson. It was a village of 
about seven hundred inhabitants, in the midst of rugged mountain 
scenery, the hills abounding Avith iron ore. As Ave approached it Ave came 
to a Avide plain, over Avhich lay — in greater perfection than any Ave had 



54 



THE HUDSON. 



yet seen — stump fences, which are peculiar to the Upper Hudson countrj-. 
They arc composed of the stumps of hu'ge pine-trees, drawn from the soil 
by machines made for the purpose, and they are so disposed in rows, their 
roots interlocking, as to form an effectual barrier to the passage of any 
animal on whose account fences are made. The stumps are full of sap 
(turpentine), and we were assured, with all the confidence of experience, 
that these fences would last a thousand years, the turpentine preserving 
the woody fibre. One of the stump-machines stood in a field near the 
road. It was a simple derrick, Avitli a large wooden screw hanging from 
the apex, where its heavy matrix was fastened. In the lower end of the 
screw was a large iron bolt, and at the upper end, or head, a strong lever 




&ll-\ 1 I ilHlNf 



was fastened. The derrick is placed over a stump, and- heavy chains arc 
wound round and under the stump and over the iron bolt in the screw. 
A horse attached to the lever works the screw in such a manner as to 
draw the stump and its roots clean from the ground. The stump fences 
foi'med quite a picturesque feature in the landscape, and at a distance 
Ikuo the appearance of masses of deer horns. 

It was toward evening when we arrived at Warrensburg, but before 
sunset we had strolled over the most interesting portions of the village, 
along the river and its immediate vicinity. Here, a:s elsewhere, the pre- 
vailing drought had diminished the streams, and the Scarron, usually a 



THE HUDSON. 



55 



■wild, rushing river, from the village to its confluence with the Hudson 
proper, was a comparatively gentle creek, with many of the rocks in its 
bed quite bare, and timber lodged among them. The buildings of a large 
manufactory of leather skirted one side of the rapids, and at their head 
was a large dam and some mills. That region abounded with establish- 
ments for making leather, the hemlock-tree, whose bark is used for 
tanning, being very abundant upon the mountains. 

■ We passed the night at Warrensburg, and early in the morning rode to 
the confluence of the Scarron and Hudson rivers, in a charming little 




VIEAV AT WARBEXSBVr!«. 



valley which formed the Indian pass of Tco-ho-Juni in the olden time, 
between the Thunder's Nest and other high hills. The point where the 
waters met was a lovely spot, shaded by elms and other spreading trees, 
and forming a picture of beauty and repose in strong contrast with the 
rugged hills around. On the north side of the valley rises the Thunder's 
Nest (which appears in our little sketch), a lofty pile of rocks full eight 
hundred feet in height ; and from the great bridge, three hundi-ed feet 
long, which spanned the Hudson just below the confluence, there was a 
view of a fine amphitheatre of hills. 



56 



THE HUDSON. 



Prom Tahawup, at the foot of Saudford Lake, to the confluence Avitli 
the ScaiTon, at WaiTcnsburg, a distance of about fifty miles by its course, 
the Hudson flows most of the way through an almost unbroken wilderness. 
Through that region an immense amount of timber is annually cast into 
the stream, to be gathered by the owners at the great boom near Glen's 
Falls. From "Warrc nsburg to Luzerne, at Jesup's Little Falls, the river 
is equally uninteresting, and these two sections we omitted in our explo- 
rations, because they promised very small returns for the time and labour 
to be spent in visiting them. 80 at Warrcnsburg we left the i-iver again, 




comiaj:nce of the hudsox and scarrox. 



and took a somewhat circuitous route to Luzerne, that we might travel a 
good road. That route, by far the most interesting for the tourist, leads 
by tlie way of Caldwell, [it the head of Lake George, through a moun- 
tainous and very picturesque country, sparsely dotted with neat farmhouses 
in the intervals between the grand old hills. The road is planked, and 
occasionally a fountain by the wayside sends out its clear stream from 
rocks, or a mossy bank, into a rude reservoir, such as is seen delineated 



THE HUDSON. 



57 



in the picture at the head of Chapter II. While watering our horses at 
one of these, the ring of merry Laughter came up through the little valley 
near, and a few moments afterward we met a group of young people 
enjoying the pleasures of a pic-uic. 

At noon Ave reined up in front of the Fort William Henry Hotel, at 
the head of Lake George, where we dined, and then departed through the 
forest for Luzerne. That immense caravansera for the entertainment of 
summer visitors stands npon classic ground. It is upon the site of old 
Fort William Henry, erected by General William Johnson in the autumn 




^ 







l-OI I AMI I I \M III M \ ][ )Trl 



of 1755, and named in honour of two of the Koyal Family of England. 
At the same time the general changed the name of the lake from that of 
the Holy Sacrament, given it by Father Jogue, a French priest, who 
reached the head of it on Corpus L'hristi day, to George — not in simple 
honour to his Mojesty, then reigning monarch of England, hut, as the 
general said, "to assert his undoubted dominion here." The Indians 
called it, Can-ai-dc-ri-oit, or Tale of the Lake, it appearing as such 
appendage to Lake Champlain. 



58 THE HUDSON. 



From the broad colonnade of the hotel the eye takes in the lake and its 
shores to the ^Narrows, about fifteen miles, and includes a theatre of great 
historic interest. Over those waters came the Hurons to fight the 
Mohawks, and during the Seven Years' war, when French dominion in 
America was crushed by the united powers of England and her American 
colonies, those hills often echoed the voice of the trumpet, the beat of the 
drum, the roar of cannon, the crack of musketry, the savage yell, and the 
shout of victory. At the head of the lake, British and Gallic warriors 
fought desperately, early in September, 1755; and history has recorded 
the results of many battle-fields in that vicinity during the last centiiry, 
.before and after the colonists and the mother-country came to blows, after 
a long and bitter quarrel. At the head of Lake George, where another 
fort had been erected near the ruins of William Henry, the republicans, 
in the old "War for Independence, had a military depot ; and until the 
surrender of Sir John Burgoync, at Saratoga, on the Hudson, in 1777, 
that lake was a minor theatre of war, where the respective adherents of 
the "Continental" and "Ministerial" parties came into frequent 
collisions. Since then a profound peace has reigned over all that region, 
and at tlie Fort "William Henry House and its neighbours are gathered 
every summer the wise and the wealthy, the noble, gay, and beautiful of 
many lands, seeking and finding health in recreation. 



CHAPTER IV. 




E started for Luzerne after an early dinner, 
crossing on our -way the " Erench field," 
whereon Dieskau disposed his troops for 
action. We then entered the woods, and 
our route of elcA'en miles lay through a 
highly picturesque country, partially culti- 
vated, among the hills, and following the 
old Indian war-path from the Sacandaga to 
Lake George. As wc approached Luzerne, 
the country spread into a high plain, as at 
Warrensburg, on the southern margin of 
Avhich, overlooked by lofty hills, lies Luzerne 
Lake. We passed it on our left, and then 
went down quite a steep and winding way into the village, on the bank 
of the Hudson, and found an excellent home at Rockwell's spacious inn. 
We have seldom seen a village more picturesquely situated than this. It 
is about seventy miles from the Adirondack village, and on the borders of 
the great wilderness, where game and fish abound, and for a quiet place 
of summer resoi't, can hardly be surpassed. It lies at the foot of a high 
bluff, down which flows in cascades the outlet of Luzerne Lake, and leaps 
into the Hudson, which here makes a magnificent sweep before rushing, 
in narrow channel and foaming rapids between high rocky banks, to 
receive the equally turbulent waters of the Sacandaga, just below. That 
place the Indians called Tio-sa-ron-da, the "Meeting of the Waters." 
Twenty years ago, there were several mills at the head of these falls : a 
flood swept them away, and they have never been rebuilt. 

The rapids at Luzerne, which form a fall of about eighteen feet, bear 
the name of Jcsup's Little Falls, to distinguish them from Jesup's Great 



GO 



THE HUDSON. 



Fall?, five miles below, Lotli being iiieluded in patents grauted to Ebenezer 
Jesuj:), who, Avitli a family of Fairchilds, settled there before the Revolu- 
tion, when Luzerne was called Westfield. These settlers espoused the 
cause of the king, and because of their depredations upon their Whig 
neighbonrs, became very obnoxious. They held intercourse with the 
loyal Scotch Highlanders, who were under the influence of the Johnsons 
and other royalists in the Mohawk valley, and acted as spies and 
inforaiants for the enemies of republicanism. In the summer of 1777, 




FALLS AT LUZERNE. 



while Ikirgoyne was making his way toward Albany, Colonel St., Leger 
penetrated the upper Mohawk valley, and laid siege to Fort Schuyler. 
On one occasion he sent Indian messengers to the Fairchilds, who took 
the old trail through the Sacandaga valley, by way of the Fish House, 
owned by Sir William Johnson. When they approached Tio-sa-ron-da 
(Luzerne), they were discovered and pursued by a party of republicans, 
and one of them, close pressed, leaped the Hudson, at the foot of Jesup's 
Little Falls, the high wooded banks then approaching within twenty-five 
feet of each other. He escaped, took the trail to Lake George, and pushed 
on to Skeuesborough (now Whitehall), where he found Burgoyue. Soon after 



THE HUDSON. 



61 



this a small party of republican troops, sent by General Gates, not succeed- 
iug in capturing these royalists at "Westfield, laid waste the settlement. 

Luzerne Lake, lying many feet above tlic village, is a beautiful little 
sheet of water, with a single small island upon its bosom. It is the 
larger of a series of four lakes, extending back to within five miles of 
Lake George. It abounds with fine fish, the largest and most delicious 
being the Masque alongo, a species of pike or pickerel, which is also found 
in the Upper Hudson, and all over northern New York. One was caught 




MASQUE ALONGE. 



in the lake, and brought to liockwell's, on the morning of our departure, 
which weighed between five and six pounds. ■'•' 

On the northern shore of Luzerne Lake, where the villas of Benjamin 
C. Butler and J. Leati, Esqs. (seen in the picture), stood, was the ancient 
gathering place of the Indians in council. Here was the fork of the great 
Sacamlaga and Oneida trail, oue branch extending to Lake George and 
the northern country, and the other to Fort Edward and the more 
southern country. All around the lake and village are ranges of lofty 
hills, filled with iron ore. On the west is the Kayaderosseros range, 
extending from Ballston to the Adirondacks, and on the east of the 



* The Masque alonge {Exor estor) derived its name from the peculiar formation of its mouth and 
head. The French called it Masque alonge, or Long-face. It is the largest of tlie pickerel species. 
Some have been caught among tlie Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence, in the \-icinity of Alexandria 
Bay, on its southern shore, weighuig fifty pounds, and measui'ing five feet in length. It is the most 
voracious of fresh-water fish. 



62 



THE HUDSON. 



Luzerne range, stretcliing from Saratoga Springs to the western shores of 
Lake George. Four miles north of the village is a hemispherical moun- 




tssfo?^ '& 




lUZEKNE LAKE. 



tain, eight hundred feet in height, rocky and bald, which the Indians 
called Se-noji-cje-icahf the Great Upturned Pot. 




CONl'LUENCE OJT 1UE UVUSO.V AM) SAC'AJfUAUA. 

The Sacandaga is the largest tributary of the Mohawk, and comes down 
seventy-five miles from the north-west, out of lakes and ponds in the 



THE HUDSON. 



63 



wilderness of Hamilton County. Its confluence with its receptacle is at 
the head of a very beautiful valley, that terminates at Luzerne. It 
comes sweeping around the bases of high hills with a rapid current, and 
rushes swiftly into the Hudson, where the latter has become deep and 
sluggish after its commotion at the falls above. Down that valley we 
rode, with the river in view all the way to the village of Corinth, at the 
head of the Jong rapids above Jesup's Great Falls, the Kah-che-lon-cooh of 
the Indians. These were formerly known as the Hadley Falls. They 
were afterward called Palmer's Falls, the land on each side of the river 




KAH-CHE-BOX-COOK, OR .TESTP'S GREAT FALL?!. 

being in possession of Bcriah Palmer and others, who there constructed 
extensive works for manufacturing purposes. The water-power there, 
even at the very low stage of the river, as when we visited it, has been 
estimated to be equal to fifteen thousand horse-power. They had laid 
out a village, with a public square and fountain, and were preparing for 
industrial operations far greater than at any point so far up the Hudson. 
It is only sixteen miles north of Saratoga Springs. 

We followed a path down the margin of the roaring stream some 
distance, and, returning, took a rough road which led to the foot of the 



64 THE HUDSON. 



Great Fall. From Jesup's landing to this point, a distance of more than 
a mile the river descends about one hundred and twenty feet, in some 
places rushing wildly through rocky gorges from eighty to one hundred 
feet in depth. The perpendicular fall is seventy-five feet. "\Ye did not 
see it in its grandeur, the river was so low. From its course hack, 
some distance, the stream was choked with thousands of logs that had 
come down from the wilderness and lodged there. They lay in a 
mass, in every conceivable position, to the depth of many feet, and 
so filled the river as to form a safe, though rough bridge, for us to 
cross. Between this point and Glen's Falls, thirteen miles distant 
by the nearest road, the Hudson makes a grand sweep among lofty 
and rugged hills of the Luzerne range, and flows into a sandy plain a 
few miles above the latter village. "We did not follow its course, but 
took that nearest road, for the day was waning. Over mountains and 
through valleys, catching glimpses of the river here and there, we 
travelled that bright afternoon in early autumn, our eyes resting only 
upon near objects most of the time, iintil we reached the summit of a 
lofty hill, nine miles from Glen's Falls. There a revelation of beauty, 
not easily described, burst upon the vision. Looking over and beyond 
the minor hills through an opening in the Luzerne range, we saw the 
Green Mountains of Vermont in the far distance, bathed in shadowy 
splendour, and all the intervening country, with its villages and farm- 
houses, lay before us. The spires and white houses of Glen's Falls 
appeared so near, that we anticipated a speedy end to our day's journey. 
That vision was enjoyed but for a few moments, for we were soon again 
among the tangled hills. But another appeared to charm us. We had 
■just commenced the descent of a mountain, along whose brow lies the 
dividing line between the towns of Luzerne and Queensbury, when a 
sudden turn in the road revealed a deep, narrow valley far below us, with 
the Hudson sweeping through it with rapid ciirrent. The sun's last rays 
had loft that valley, and the shadows were deepening along the waters as 
we descended to their margin. Twilight was drawing its delicate veil 
over the face of nature when we reached the plain just mentioned, and 
the night had closed in when we arrived at the village of Glen's Falls. 
"We had hoped to reach there in time to visit the State Dam and the 



THE HUDSON. 



65 



Great Boom, which span the Hudson at separate points, a few miles 
above the falls, but were compelled to forego that pleasure until morning. 
We were now fairly out of the wilderness in which the Hudson rises, 
and through which it flows for a hundred miles ; and here our little party 
was broken by the departure of Mr. Buckingham for home. Mrs. Lossing 
and myself lingered at Glen's Palls and at Fort Edward, five miles below, 
a day or two longer, for the purpose of visiting objects of interest in their 
vicinity, a description of which will be given as we proceed with our 




THE HUDSON KEAE THK QUEENSBUEY LINE. 



notes. A brief notice of the State Dam and Great Boom, just mentioned, 
seems necessary. 

The dam was about two and a-half miles above Glen's Falls. It had 
been constructed about fifteen years before, to furnish water for the feeder 
of the canal which connects the Hudson river and Lake Cham plain. It 
was sixteen hundred feet in length ; and the mills near it have attracted 
a population sufficient to constitute quite a village, named State Dam. 
About two miles above this dyke was the Great Boom, thrown across the 
river for the purpose of catching all the logs that come floating from 
above. It was made of heavy, hewn timbers, four of them bolted together 

K 



66 



THE HUDSON. 



raft- wise. The ends of tlie groups were connected by cliains, which 
worked over friction rollers, to allow the boom to accommodate itself to 
the motion of the water. Each end of the boom was secured to a heavy 
abutment by chains ; and above it were strong triangular structures to 
break the ice, to serve as anchors for the boom, and to opeiate as shields 
to prevent the logs striking the boom with the full speed of the current. 
At times, immense numbers of logs were collected above this boom, filling 
the river for two or three miles. In the spring of 1859, at least half a 
million of logs were collected there, ready to be taken into small side- 




THE (JEEAT BOOM. 



booms, assorted by the owners according to their private marks, and sent 
down to Glen's Falls, Sandy Hill, or Port Edward, to be sawed into 
boards at the former places, or made into rafts at the latter, for a voyage 
down the river. Heavy rains and*melting snows filled the river to over- 
flowing. The great boom snapped asunder, and the half million of logs 
went rushing down the stream, defying every barrier. The country 
below was flooded by the swollen river ; and we saw thousands of the 
logs scattered over the valley of the Hudson from Port Edward to Troy, 
a distance of about forty miles. 



THE HUDSON. 



We have taken leave of the wilderness. Henceforth our path will he 
where the Hudson flows through cultivated plains, along the margins of 
gentle slopes, of rocky headlands, and of lofty hills ; hy the cottages of the 
humble, and the mansions of the wealthy ; by pleasant hamlets, through 
thriving villages, ambitious cities, and the marts of trade and commerce. 

Unlike the rivers of the elder world, famous in the history of men, the 
Hudson presents no grey and crumbling monuments of the ruder civilisa- 
tions of the past, or even of the barbaric life so recently dwelling upon its 
borders. It can boast of no rude tower or mouldering wall, clustered 
with historical associations that have been gathering around them for 
centuries. It has no fine old castles, in glory or in ruins, with visions of 
romance pictured in their dim shadows ; no splendid abbeys or cathedrals, 
in grandeur or decay, from which emanate an aura of religious memories. 
Nor can it boast of mansions or ancestral halls wherein a line of heroes 
have been born, or illustrious families have lived and died, generation 
after generation. Upon its banks not a vestige of feudal power may be 
seen, because no citadel of great wrongs ever rested there. The dead 
Past has left scarcely a record upon its shores. ' It is full of the living 
Present, illustrating by its general aspect the free thought and free action 
which are giving strength and solidity to the young and vigorous nation 
within whose bosom its bright waters flow. 

Yet the Hudson is not without a history — a history brilliant in some 
respects, and in all interesting, not only to the American, bi;t to the whole 
civilised world. From the spot where we now stand — the turbulent 
Glen's Falls — to the sea, the banks of the beautiful river have voices 
innumerable for the ear of the patient listener ; telling of joy and woe, of 
love and beauty, of noble heroism, and more noble fortitude, of glory, and 
high renown, worthy of the sweetest cadences of the minstrel, the glowing- 
numbers of the poet, the deepest investigations of the philosopher, and the 
gravest records of the historian. Let us listen to those voices. 

Glen's Palls consist of a series of rapids and cascades, along a descent of 
about eighty feet, the water flowing over ragged masses of black marble, 
which here form the bed and banks of the river. Hawk-eye, in Cooper's 
" Last of the Mohicans," has given an admirable description of these fulls, 
as they appeared before the works of man changed their features. He is 



THE HUDSON. 



standing in a cavern, or irregular arched Avay, in the rock below the 
brid"-e,* in the time of the old French war, with Uncas and Major Hey- 
wood, and Cora and Alice Munro, the daughters of the commandant at 
Fort William Henry, on Lake George, when Montcalm with his motley 
horde of French and Indians was approaching. "Ay," he said, "there 
are the falls on two sides of us, and the river above and below. If you 
had daylight, it would be worth the trouble to step up on the height of 
this rock, and look at the perversity of the water. It falls by no rule at 
all : sometimes it leaps, sometimes it tumbles ; there it skips — here it 
shoots ; in one place 'tis as white as snow, and in another 'tis as green as 
grass ; hereabouts, it pitches into deep hollows, that rumble and quake 
the 'arth, and thereaway it ripples and sings like a brook, fashioning 
whirlpools and gullies in the old stone, as if 'twere no harder than trodden 
clay. The whole design of the river seems disconcerted. First, it runs 
smoothly, as if meaning to go down the descent as things were ordered ; 
then it angles about and faces the shores ; nor are there places wanting 
where it looks backward, as if unwilling to leave the wilderness to mingle 
with the salt ! " 

The falls had few of those features when we visited them. The volume 
of water was so small that the stream was almost hidden in the deep 
channels in the rock worn by the current during the lapse of centuries. 
No pictui'c could then be made to give an adequate idea of the cascades 
when the river is full, and I contented myself with making a sketch of 
the scene below the bridge, at the foot of the falls, from the water-side 
entrance to the cavern alluded to. A fine sepia drawing, by the late 
Mr. Bartlett, which I found subsequently among some original sketches 
in my possession, supplies the omission. The engraving from it gives a 
perfect idea of the appearance of the falls when the river is at its usual 
height. 

The Indians gave this place the significant name of Che-pon-tuc — 
meaning a difficult place to get around. The white man first called the 
cascades "Wing's Falls, in honour of Abraham "Wing, who, with others 



* A view of this cavern is seen at the head of this chapter. The spectator is supposed to be within 
it, and looking out upon tlie river and the opposite bank. 



THE HUDSON. 



69 



from Duchess County, New York, settled there under a grant from the 
Crown, about the middle of the last century. Many years afterwards, 
when "Wing was dead, and his son was in possession of the falls and the 
adjacent lands, a convivial party assembled at table in the tavern there, 
which formed the germ of the present village of nearly four thousand 
inhabitants. Among them was Mr. "Wing; also John Glen, a man of 
fortune, who lived on the south side of the river. The wine circulated 
freely, and it ruled the wit of the hour. Under its influence. Wing 




glen's fails. 



agreed to transfer to Glen the right of name to the falls, on condition 
that the latter should pay for the supper of the company. Glen imme- 
diately posted handbills along the bridle-path from the "Wing's to Schenec- 
tada and Albany, announcing the change in the name of the falls ; and 
ever since they have been known as Glen's Falls. For a "mess of 
pottage " the young man sold his family birthright to immortality. 

Glen's Falls village is beautifully situated upon a plain on the north 
side of the river, and occupies a conspicuous place in the trade and travel 



70 



THE HUDSON. 



of that section of the State.* The water-power there is very great, and 
is used extensively for flouring and lumber mills. The surplus water 
supplies a navigable feeder to the Champlain Canal, that connects Lake 
Champlain with the Hudson. There are also several mills for slabbing 
the fine black marble of that locality for the construction of chimney- 
pieces, and for other uses. These various mills mar the natural beauty of 
the scene, but their uncouth and irregular forms give picturesqueness to 
the view. The bridge crosses just at the foot of the falls. It rests upon 
abutments of strong masonry at each end, and a pier in the middle, which 




BELOW THE BRIDGE AT GLES'S FALLS. 



is seated upon the caverned rock, just mentioned, which was once in the 
bed of the stream. The channel on the southern side has been closed by 
an abutment, and one of the chambers of the cavern, made memorable by 
Cooper, is completely shut. When we were there, huge logs nearly filled 
the upper entrance to it. Below the bridge the shores are black marble, 
beautifully stratified, perpendicular, and, in some places, seventy feet in 



* Not long after our visit here meiiticnecl, a greater pirtion of the village was cUstroyed by fire, but 
it was soon rebuilt. 



THE HUDSON. 71 



height. Between these walls the water runs with a swift current for 
nearly a mile, and finally, at Sandy Hill, three miles below, is broken 
into rapids. 

At Sandy Hill the Hudson makes a magnificent sweep, in a curve, 
when changing its course from an easterly to a southerly direction ; and a 
little below that village it is broken into wild cascades, which have been 
named Baker's Palls. Sandy Hill, like the borough of Glen's Falls, 
stands upon a high plain, and is a very beautiful village, of about thirteen 
hundred inhabitants. In its centre is a shaded green, which tradition 
points to as the spot where a tragedy was enacted more than a century 
ago, some incidents of which remind us of the romantic but truthful 
story of Captain Smith and Pocahontas, in Virginia. The time of the 
tragedy was during the old French war, and the chief actor was a young- 
Albanian, son of Sybrant Quackenboss, one of the sturdy Dutch burghers 
of that old city. The young man was betrothed to a maiden of the same 
city ; the marriage day was fixed, and prei)arations for the nuptials were 
nearly completed, when he was impressed into the military service as a 
waggoner, and required to convey a load of provisions from Albany to 
Fort William Henry, at the head of Lake George. He had passed Fort 
Edward with an escort of sixteen men, under Lieutenant lIcGinnis, of 
New Hampshire, and was making his way througli the gloomy forest at 
the bend of the Hudson, when they were attacked, overpowered, and dis- 
armed by a party of French Indians, under the famous partizan Marin. 
The prisoners were taken to the trunk of a fallen tree, and seated upon it 
in a row. The captors then started toward Fort Edward, leaving the 
helpless captives strongly bound with green withes, in charge of two or 
three stalwart warriors, and their squaws, or wives. In tlie course of an 
hour the party returned. Young Quackenboss was seated at one end of 
the log, and Lieutenant McGinuis next him. The savages held a brief 
consultation, and then one of them, with a glittering tomahawk, went to 
the end of the log opposite Quackenboss, and deliberately sank his weapon 
in the brain of the nearest soldier. He fell dead upon the ground. The 
second shared a like fate, then a third, and so on until all were slain but 
McGinnis and Quackenboss. The tomahawk was raised to cleave the 
skull of the former, when he threw himself suddenly backward from the 



THE HUDSON. 



log, and attempted to break his bonds. In an instant a dozen tomahawks 
gleamed over his head. For a while he defended himself with his heels, 
lying upon his back, but after being severely hewn with their hatchets, 
he was killed by a blow. Quackenboss alone remained of the seventeen. 
As the fatal steel was about to fall upon his head, the arm of the savage 
executioner was arrested by a squaw, who exclaimed, "You shan't kill 
him ! He's no fighter ! He's my dog ! " He was spared and unbound, 
and, staggering under a pack of plunder almost too heavy for him to 
sustain, he was marched towards Canada, as a prisoner, the Indians bear- 
ing the scalps of his murdered fellow captives as trophies. They went 
down Lake Champlain in canoes, and at the first Indian village, after 
reaching its foot, he was compelled to run the gauntlet between rows of 
savage men armed with clubs. In this terrible ordeal he was severely 
wounded. His Indian mistress then took him to her wigwam, bound up 
his wounds, and carefully nursed him until he was fully recovered. The 
Governor of Canada ransomed him, took him to Montreal, and there he 
was employed as a weaver. He obtained the governor's permission to 
write to his parents to inform them of his fate. The letter was carried 
by an Indian as near Fort Edward as he dared to approach, when he 
placed it in a split stick, near a frequented patli in the forest. It was 
found, was conveyed to Albany, and gave great joy to his friends. He 
remained in Canada three years, when he returned, married his affianced, 
and died in Washington County, in the year 1820, at the age of eighty- 
three years. 

Baker's Falls are about half-way between Sandy Hill and Fort Edward. 
The river is about four hundred feet in width, and the entire descent of 
water, in the course of a mile, is between seventy and eighty feet. As 
at Glen's Falls, the course of the river is made irregular by huge masses 
of rocks, and it rushes in foaming cascades to the chasm below. The 
best view is from the foot of the falls, but as these could not be reached 
from the eastern side, on which the paper-mills stand, without much 
difficulty and some danger, I sketched a less imposing view from the high 
rocky bank on their eastern margin. This affords a glimpse of the mill- 
dam above the great fall, the village of Sandy Hill in the distance, and 
the piers of a projected railway bridge in the stream at the great bend. 



THE HUDSON. 



73 



The direction of the railway was changed after these piers were built at 
a heavy expense, and they remain as monuments of caprice, or of some- 
thing still less commendable. 

Fort Edward, live miles below Glen's Palls, by the river's course, was 

earliest known as the gi^eat carrying place, it being the point of overland 

■ departure for Lake Champlain, across the isthmus of five-and-twenty 

miles. It has occupied an important position in tlie history of Kew York 




UAlvlili'S 1 ALLS. 



from an early period, and at the time we are considering was a very 
thriving village of aboiit two thousand inhabitants. 

In the year 169G, the unscrupulous Governor Fletcher granted to one 
of his favourites, whom he styled "our Loving Subject, the Reverend 
Godfridius I)cllius, Minister of the Gospell att our city of Albany," a 
tract of land lying upon the east side of the Hudson, between the 
northernmost bounds of the Saratoga patent, and a point of Lake Cham- 
plain, a distance of seventy miles, with an average width of twelve miles. 
For this domain the worldly-minded clergyman was required, in the lan- 
guage of the grant, to pay, " on the feast-day of the Annunciation of our 
blessed Virgin Mary, at our City of New Yorke, the Annual Rent of one 

L 



74 THE HUDSON. 



Raccoon Skin, in Lieu and StcatTe of all other Eents, Services, Dues, 
Dutyes, and Demands whatsoever for the said Tract of Land, and Islands, 
and Premises." Governor Bellomont soon succeeded Fletcher, and, through 
his influence, the legislature of the province annulled this and other 
similar grants. That body, exercising ecclesiastical as well as civil 
functions, also passed a resolution, suspending Dellius from the ministry, 
for " deluding the Maquaas (Mohawk) Indians, and illegal and surreptitious 
obtaining of said grant." Dellius denied the authority of the legislature, 
and, after contesting his claim for a while, he returned to Holland. 
There he transferred his title to the domain to the Eev. John Lydius, 
who became Dellius's successor in the ministry at Albany, in 1703. 
Lydius soon afterward built a stone trading-house upon the site of Fort 
Edward. Its door and windows were strongly barred, and near the roof 
the walls Were pierced for musketry. It was erected upon a high mound, 
and palisaded, as a defence against enemies. 

In 1709 an expedition was prepared for the conquest of Canada. The 
commander of the division to attack Montreal was Francis Nicholson, 
who had been lieutenant-governor of the province of New York. Under 
his direction a military road, forty miles in length, was opened from 
Saratoga, on the east side of the Hudson, to White Hall, on Lake Cham- 
plain. Along this route three forts were erected. The upper one was 
named Fort Anne, in honour of the Queen of England ; the middle one, 
of which Lydius' s liouse formed a part, was called Fort Nicholson, in 
honour of the commander; and the lower one, just 
below the mouth of the Batten-Kill, was named 
Fort Saratoga. Almost fifty years later, when 
a provincial army, under General Johnson, of 
the Mohawk valley, and General Lyman, of 
Connecticut, was moving forward to drive the 
GEouND-PLAN OF FORT Frcuch from Lake Champlain, a strong irregular 

EDWARD. 

quadrangular fort was erected by the latter 
officer, upon the site of Fort Nicholson, and the fortification was called 
Fort Lyman, in his honour. It was not fairly completed when a successful 
battle was fought with the French and Indians under the Baron Dieskau, 
at the head of Lake George, the honours of which were more greatly 




THE HUDSON. /O 



due to Lyman than Johnson. But the latter was chief commander. His 
king, as we have seen, gave him the honours of knighthood and £4,000. 
With a mean spirit of jealousy, Johnson not only omitted to mention General 
Lyman in his despatches, but changed the name of the fort which he had 
erected, to Edicard, in honour of one of the royal family of England. 

Fort Edward was an important military post during the whole of the 
French and Indian war, — that Seven Years' War which cost England 
more than a hundred millions of pounds sterling, and laid one of the 
broadest of the foundation-stones of her immense national debt. There, 
on one occasion, Israel Putnam, a bold provincial partizan, and afterward 
a major-general in the American revolutionary army, performed a most 
daring exploit. It was winter, and the whole country was covered with 
deep snow. Early in the morning of a mild day, one of the rows of 
wooden barracks in the fort took fire ; the flames had progressed exten- 
sively before they were discovered. The garrison was summoned to duty, 
but all efi'orts to subdue the fire were in vain. Putnam, who was 
stationed upon Poger's Island, opposite the fort, crossed the river upon 
the ice with some of his men, to assist the garrison. The fire was then 
rapidly approaching the building containing the powder-magazine. The 
danger was becoming every moment more imminent and frightful, for an 
explosion of the powder would destroy the whole fort and many lives. 
Tlie water-gate was thrown open, and soldiers were ordered to bring 
filled buckets from the river. Putnam mounted to the roof of the 
building next to the magazine, and, by means of a ladder, he was supplied 
with water. Still the fire raged, and the commandant of the fort, 
perceiving Putnam's danger, ordered him down. The unflinching major 
begged permission to remain a little longer. It was granted, and he did 
not leave his post until he felt the roof beneath him giving way. It fell, 
and only a few feet from the blazing mass was the magazine building, its 
sides ali-eady charred with the heat. Unmindful of the peril, Putnam 
placed himself between the fire and the sleeping power in the menaced 
building, which a spark might arouse to destructive activity. Under a 
shower of cinders, he hurled bucket-full after bucket-full of water upon 
the kindling magazine, with ultimate success. The flames were subdued, 
the magazine and remainder of the fort were saved, and the intrepid 



76 THE HUDSON. 



Putnam retired from the terrible conflict amidst the huzzas of his com- 
panions in arms. He was severely wounded in the contest. His mittens 
were burned from his hands, and his legs, thighs, arms, and face were 
dreadfully blistered. For a month he was a suffering invalid in the hospital. 

Fort Edward was strengthened by the republicans, and properly 
garrisoned, when the revolution broke out in 1775. "When General 
Burgoyne, with his invading army of British regulars, hired Germans, 
French, Canadians, and Indians, appeared at the foot of Lake Champlain, 
Genei'al Philip Schuyler was the commander-in-chief of the republican 
army in the Northern Department. His head-quarters were at Fort Anne, 
and General St. Clair commanded the important post of Ticonderoga. In 
JiJy, Burgoyne come sweeping down the hike triumphantly. St. Clair 
fled from Ticonderoga, and his army was scattered and sorely smitten in 
the retreat. When the British advanced to Skenesborough, at the head 
of the lake, Schuyler retreated to Fort Edward, felling trees across the 
old military road, demolishing tb.o causeways over the great Kingsbury 
marshes, and destroying the bridges, to obstruct the invader's progress. 
"With great labour and perseverance Burgoyne moved forward, and on the 
29th of July he encamped upon the high bank of the Hudson, at the 
great bend where the village of Sandy Hill now stands. 

At this time a tragedy occurred near Fort Edward, wliich produced a 
great sensation throughout the countrj', and has been a theme for history, 
poetry, romance, and song. It was the death of Jenny jNI'Crea, the 
daughter of a Scotch Presbyterian clergyman, who is described as lovely 
in disposition, graceful in manners, and so intelligent and winning in all 
her ways, that she ■s^'as a favourite of all who knew her. She was visiting 
a Tory friend at Fort Edward at this time, and was betrothed to a young 
man of the neighbourhood, who was a subaltern in Burgoyne's army. 
On the approach of the invaders, her brother, who lived near, fled, with 
his family, down the river, and desired Jenny to accompany them. She 
preferred to stay under the protection of her Tory friend, who was a 
widow, and a cousin of General Eraser, of Burgoyne's army. 

Ikirgoyne had found it difiicult to restrain the cruelty of his Indians. 
To secure their co-operation he had offered them a bounty for prisoners 
and scalps, at the same time forbidding them to kill any person not in 



THE HUDSON. 



arms for the sake of scalps. The offer of bounties stimuhitecl the savages 
to seek captives other than those in the field, and they went out in small 
parties for the purpose. One of these prowled around Fort Edward eai-ly 
on the morning after Eiirgoyne arrived at Sandy Hill, aud, entering the 
liouse where Jenny was staying, carried away tho yonng lady and htu- 




THK JENXV M-fREA TREE. 



friend. A negro boy alarmed the garrison, and a detachment was sent 
after the Indians, who were fleeing with their prisoners toward the camp. 
They had caught two horses, and on oue of them Jenny was already 
placed by them, when the detachment assailed them with a volley of 



78 THE HUDSON. 



musketry. The savages were unharmed, but one of the bullets mortally 
wounded their fair captive. She fell and expired, as tradition relates, 
near a pine-tree, which remained as a memorial of the tragedy until a 
few years ago. Having lost their prisoner, they secured her scalp, and, 
with her black tresses wet with her warm blood, they hastened to the 
camp. The friend of Jenny had just arrived, and the locks of the maiden, 
which were of great length and beauty, were recognised by her. She 
charged the Indians with her murder, which they denied, and told the 
story substantially as it is here related. 

This appears, from corroborating circumstances, to be the simple truth 
of a story which, as it went from lip to lip, became magnified into a tale 
of darkest horror, and produced wide-spread indignation. General Gates, 
who had just superseded General Schuyler in the command of the northern 
army, took advantage of the excitement which it produced, to increase 
the hatred of the British in the hearts of the people, and he charged 
Burgoyne with crimes utterly foreign to that gentleman's nature. In a 
published letter, he accused him of hiring savages to " scalp Europeans 
and the descendants of Europeans;" spoke of Jenny as having been 
"dressed to meet her promised husband, but met her murderers," era- 
ployed by Burgoyne ; asserted that she, with several women and children, 
had been taken "from the house into the woods, and there scalped and 
mangled in a most shocking manner;" and alleged that he had "paid 
the price of blood!" This letter, so untruthful and ungenerous, was 
condemned by Gates's friends in the army. But it had the desired eftect ; 
and the sad story of Jenny's death was used with power against the 
ministry by the opposition in the British parliament. 

The lover of Jenny left the army, and settled in Canada, where he lived 
to be an old man. He was naturally gay and garrulous, but after that 
event he was ever sad and taciturn. He never married, and avoided 
society. When the anniversary of the tragedy approached, he would 
shut himself in his room, and refuse to see his most intimate acquaint- 
ances ; and at all times his friends avoided speaking of the American 
revolution in his presence. The body of Jenny was buried on her brother's 
land: it was re-interred at Port Edward in 1826, with imposing cere- 
monies; and again in 1852, her remains found a new resting-place in a 



I 



THE HUDSON. 



'9 



beautiful cemetery, half-way between Fort Edward and Sandy Hill. 
Her grave is near the entrance ; and upon a plain white marble stone, six 
feet in height, standing at its head, is the following inscription : — 

"Here rest the rcmtiins of Jane M'Crea, aged 17; made captive and 
murdered by a band of Indians, while on a visit to a relative in the neigh- 
boiirhood, a.d. 1777. To commemorate one of the most thrilling incidents 
in the annals of the American revolution, to do justice to the fame of the 
gallant British officer to whom she was affianced, and as a simple tribute 




BAJ..V-01-i;lLEAl> TREK. 



to the memory of the departed, this stone is erected by her niece, Sarah 
Hanna Payne, a.d. 1852." 

No relic of the olden time now remains at Fort Edward, excepting a 
few logs of the fort on the edge of the river, some faint traces of the 
embankments, and a magnificent Balm-of-Gilcad tree, which stood, a 
sapling, at the water-gate, when Putnam saved the magazine. It has 
three huge trunks, springing from the roots. One of them is more than 
half decayed, having been twice riven by lightning within a few years. 
Upon Rogers's Island, in front of the town, where armies were encamped, 



80 



THE HUDSON. 



and a large block-house stood, Indian arroAV-lieadp, bullets, and occasionally 
a piece of " cob-moucy," ••' arc sometimes upturned by the plough. 

A picture of the village of Fort Edward, in 1820, shows only six houses 
and a church ; now, as we have observed, it was a busy town with two 




VIKW AT FORT EDAVAEP. 



thousand inhabitants. Its cliicf industrial establishment was an extensive 
blast-furnace for converting iron ore into the pure metal. Upon rising 
ground, and overlooking the village and surrounding country, was a 
colossal educational establishment, called the Fort Edward Institute. 




' COB-MOKEY." 



* The old silver coins occasionally 
found at Fort Edward aie called " cob- 
money" by tlie iieople. I could not 
ascertain the derivation of the name. 
The pictme represents both sides of tvio 
pieces in ni}- possession, the proper size. 
The larger one is a cross-pistareen, of 
the value of about sixteen cents ; the 
other is a quai-ter fraction of the same. 
They are irregular in fonn, and the 
devices and dates, respectively 1741 and 
1743, are imperfect. These Spanish coins 



formed the bulk of the specie circulated among the French in Canada a hundred years ago. 



THE HUDSON. 



81 



The bnilding was erected, and its affairs were controlled, by the Methodist 
denomination, and it was widely known as one of the most flourishing 
institutions of its kind in the country. The building was five stories in 
height, and was surrounded by pleasant grounds. It is seen in our view 
at Fort Edward, which was taken from the end of the bridge that con- 
nects Rogers's Island with the western shore of the Hudson. The blast- 
furnace, and a portion of the Fort Edward dam, built by the State for 
the use of the Champlain Canal, is also seen in the picture. 

A carriage-ride from Fort Edward down the valley of the Hudson, 




'if "vt^Sl^t) _ 




FOBT MILLKTi BAI'IIiJ 



especially on its western side, affords exqixisite enjoyment to the laver of 
beautiful scenery and the displays of careful cultivation. The public 
road follows the river-bank nearly all the way to Troy, a distance of forty 
miles, and the traveller seldom loses sight of the noble stream, which is 
frequently divided by islands, some cultivated, and others heavily wooded. 
The most important of these, between Fort Edward and 8ehuylerville, 
are Munro's, Bell's, Taylor's, Galusha's, and Payne's; the third one con- 
taining seventy acres. The shores of the river are everywhere fringed 

31 



82 THE HUDSON. 



with beautiful shade-trees and shvuhbcry, and fertile lands spread out on 
every side. 

Seven miles below Fort Edward, on the western shore, is the site of 
Fort Miller, erected during the French and Indian war ; and opposite, at 
the head of foaming rapids, which afford fine water-power for mills, is 
the village of Fort Miller, then containing between two and three hun- 
dred inhabitants. Not a vestige of the fort remains. The river here 
rushes over a rough rocky bed, and falls fifteen or twenty feet in the 
course of eighty rods. Here was the scene of another of Putnam's adven- 
tures during the old war. He was out with a scouting party, and was 
lying alone in a batteau on the east side of the river, when he was sur- 
prised by some Indians ; he could not cross the river swiftly enough to 
escape the balls of their rifles, and there was no alternative but to go 
down the foaming rapids. He did not hesitate a moment. To the 
astonishment of the savages, he steered directly down the current, amid 
whirling eddies and over ragged and shelving rocks, and in a few moments 
his vessel had cleared the rushing waters, and was gliding upon the 
tranquil river below, far out of reach of their weapons. The Indians 
dared not make the perilous voyage : they regarded Putnam as God- 
protected, and believed that it would be an affront to the Great Spirit to 
make further attempts to kill him with powder and ball. 



I 



CHAPTER V. 




) OR the twofold purpose of affording water-power 
for mills, and providing still water for the boats 
of the Champlaiu Canal to cross, the Saratoga 
Dam is constructed at Fort Miller, three miles 
below the rapids. The dam forms au elbow 
in the middle of the stream, and is about 1,400 
feet in length. Below it are considerable 
rapids ; just above it is a bridge, which has a 
carriage-way for the public use, and a narrower 
passage for the horses that draw the canal boats. 
These vessels float safely on the usually still 
water of the river, but sometimes, when the 
stream is very full, the passage is attended with some difficulty, if not 
danger, on account of the strorrg though sluggish current. "When we 
visited the spot, a large-class boat lay wrecked in the rapids below, 
having gone over the dam the day before. 

The country in this vicinity is beautiful : the valley is narrow, and the 
hills, on the eastern side especially, rise one above the other in the land- 
scape, until the view is bounded by a broken mountain range beyond. 
Here we crossed the river upon the canal bridge, and rode down to the 
mouth of the Eatten-Kill, near where it enters the Hudson, to visit the 
spot— on the plain just above its mouth — where the army of Burgoyne 
lay encamped, before he crossed the Hudson to engage in those conflicts 
at Bemis's Heights, which resulted in his discomfiture and captivity. 
There he established a slaughter-yard ; and it is said that the fertility 
imparted to the soil by the blood and offal left there was visible in its 
effects upon the crops raised thereon for more than sixty years afterwards. 
The Batten-Kill is a shallow and rapid stream, and one of the largest 
of the tributaries of the Hudson, flowing in from the eastward. It rises 



84 



THE HUDSON. 



iu the State of Vermont, and, before leaving the borders of that common- 
wealth, receives the Eoariug branch : its entire length is about lifty miles. 
"Within two miles of its mouth are remarkable rapids and falls, which 
the tourist should never pass by unseen : the best point of view is from 
the bottom of a steep precipice on the southern side of the stream. The 
descent is fifty or sixty feet, very difficult, and somewhat dangerous. It 
was raining cojiiously when we visited it, which made the descent still 
more difficult, for the loose slate and the small sparse shrubbery were 




l.VXAI, liKlDCiE ACROSS THK lUDSOX ABOVE THE SARATOGA DAM. 



very insecure. Under a shelving black rock on the margin of the abyss 
into which the waters pour, we found a good place for observation. The 
spectacle Avas grand. For aboixt three hundred feet above the great fall, 
the stream rushes through a narrow rocky chasm, roaring and foaming; 
and then, in a still narrower space, it leaps into the dark gulf which has 
been named the Devil's Caldron, in a perpendicular fall of almost forty 
feet. The Indians named these falls Di-on-on-deh-o-wa, the signification 
of which we could not learn. 

From the Di-on-on-deh-o-xca we rode to Schuylerville, crossing the 



THE HUDSON. 



85 



Hudson upon a bridge eight hundred feet in length, just belo-svthe site of 
old Fort Hardy, and the place where Eurgoyno's army laid down their 
arms. From the village we went up the western side of the river about 
a mile, and from a slight eminence obtained a fine view of the scene where 
the Batten-Kill enters the Hudson in two channels, having a fairy-like 
island between them. The river is there about six hundred feet in width, 
and quite deep. 

Upon the slope opposite the mouth of the Batten-Kill is the house of 




('^l l.^^:;)WT^W' '''\ '"' 



CONFLUEXCE OF THE HUDSON AND BATTEN-KILL. 



Samuel Marshall, known as the Reidesel House. There, eleven years 
before, the writer visited an old lady, ninety-two years of age, who gave 
him many interesting details of the old war in that vicinity : she died a! 
tlie age of ninety-six. This house was made famous in the annals of 
Burgoyne's unfortunate campaign by a graphic account of sufferings 
therein, given by the Baroness Eeidesel, wife of the Brunswick general 
who commanded the German troops in the British army. She, with her 
children and domestics, and a few other women, and wounded officers, 
took refuge in this house from the storm of irregular conflict. The 
Americans, supposing the British generals were in that house, opened a 



86 



THE HUDSON. 



caunonade upon it, and all tlie inmates took refuge in the cellar. " The 
ladies of the army who were with me," says the Baroness, " were 
Mrs. Harnagc, a Mrs. Kennels, the widow of a lieutenant who was 
killed, and the lady of the commissary. Major Harnage, his wife, and 
Mrs. Kennels, made a little room in a corner, with curtains to it, and 
wished to do the same for me, but I preferred being near the door, in case 




DI-0^ 0^ HEII V,A, oh GEEAI tails of the I3AT11.^-KILL. 



of fire. Not far off my women slept, and opposite to me three English 
officers, who, though wounded, were determined not to be left behind : 
one of them was Captain Green, an aide-de-camp to Major-General Phillips, 
a very valuable ofliccr and most agreeable man. They each made me a 
most sacred promise not to leave me behind, and, in case of sudden retreat, 
that they would each of them take one of my children on his horse ; and 



THE HUDSON. 



87 



for myself one of my husband's was in constant readiness The 

■want of water distressed lis much : at leng-th we found a soklicr's wife 




■jinc r.KunsEL iiui .-h. 



who had courage enough to fetch us some from the river — an office nobody 
else would undertake, as the Americans shot at every person who 
approached it, but out of respect for her sex they never molested her." 




J,LLAK 1 I l;J Uii:sJ.L IIOL.SI'. 



Six days these ladies and their companions remained in that cellar, when 
hostilities ceased, and the British army surrendered to the Americans. 



THE HUDSON. 



The village of Schuylcrville is pleasantly situated upon a slope on the 
■western margin of the Upper Hudson valley, on the north hank of the 
Fish Creek (the outlet of Saratoga Lake), which tliere leaps to the plain 
in a series of hcautiful cascades, after being released from the labour of 
turning several mill-wheels. These cascades or rapids commence at the 
bridge where the public road crosses the creek, and continue for many 
rods, until a culvert under the Champlain Canal is passed. Viewed from 
the grounds around the Schuyler mansion, at almost every point, they 




I \11I^ 01 lirr 1 I-II IRIPK, AT "^C HI II.ERVII.l.F. 



present very perfect specimens of a picturesque water-course, having 
considerable strength and volume. 

Tlie village, containing about twelve hundred iuliabitauts, occupies the 
site of General Burgoyne's intrenched camp, at the time when he sur- 
rendered to General Gates, in the autumn of 1777. It was named in 
honour of General Philip Schuyler, upon whose broad domain of Saratoga, 
and in whose presence, the last scenes in that memorable campaign were 
performed, and who, for forty years, was a conspicuous actor in civil and 
military life in his native State of New York. 



THE HUDSON. 89 



Upon one of the conical hills on the opposite side of the valley, just 
below the Batten-Kill, was old Fort Saratoga, written Sarahtoguc in the 
old records. It was a stockade, weakly garrisoned, and, with the scattered 
village of thirty families, of the same name, upon the plain below, was 
destroyed in the autumn of 1 745, by a horde of Frenchmen and Indians, 
under the noted partisan Marin, whose followers, as we have seen, per- 
formed a sanguinary tragedy at Sandy Hill ten years later. They had 
left Montreal for the purpose of making a foray upon some English settle- 
ments on the Connecticut river. It was late in the season, and at Crown 
Point, on Lake Champlain, the Indians refused to go eastward, because of 
their lack of preparations for the rigour of winter. On the suggestion of 
Father Piquet, the French Prefect Apostolique of Canada, who met the 
expedition at Crown Point, Marin led his white and red savages south- 
ward, towards Orange, as Albany was then called by the French, to cut 
off the advancing English settlements, and bear av,'aj what plunder they 
might obtain. Father Piquet accompanied them, and the invaders fell 
upon the inhabitants when they were asleep. They burnt the fort and 
most of the houses, murdered some who resisted, and carried away captive 
over one hundred men, women, and children. 

Upon the south side of the Fish Creek, on the margin of the rapids, 
stood a brick mansion, pierced near the roof for musketry, and owned and 
occupied by a kinsman of General Schuyler, bearing the same name. His 
house was attacked, and in an attempt to defend it he was shot. His 
body was consumed, with other persons who had escaped to the cellar, 
when, after plundei"ing the house, the savages set it on fire. That Saratoga 
estate was bequeathed by the murdered owner to his nephew Philip (the 
General), who built a country mansion, elegant for the times, near the 
site of the old one, and occupied it when Burgoyne invaded the valley in 
1777. During that invasion the general's house and mills were burned 
by Burgoyne's orders. It was an act which the British general afterwards 
lamented, for he soon learned to honour Schuyler as one of the noblest 
men he had ever met. The mansion was rebuilt immediately after the 
campaign was over, a few rods from the site of the old one, but in a style 
much inferior in beauty and expense. It was the general's country-seat 
(his town residence being in Albany) until his death in 1804, and was 



90 



THE HUDSON. 



still preserved in its original form at the time of our visit, and surrounded 
by beautiful sbady trees, many of which were planted by the master's 
own hand. It was then the residence of George Strover, Esq., who took 
pleasure in preserving it as General Schuyler left it. Even some ancient 
lilac shrubs, now quite lofty trees, gnarled and unsightly, that were in 
the garden of the old mansion, were cherished as precious mementoes of 
the past. 

An outline sketch of events to which allusion has just been made is 




THE SCHUVT.ER >rA>-SION. 



necessary to a full comprehension of the isolated historical facts witli 
which this portion of our subject abounds. We will trace it with 
rapid pencil, and leave the completion of the picture to the careful 
historian. 

The campaigns of 1775 and 1776, against the rebellious Americans, 
were fruitless of any satisfactory results. The British cabinet, supported 
by heavy majorities in both Houses of Parliament, resolved to open the 
campaign of 1777 with such vigour, and to give to the service in America 
such material, as should not fail to put down the rebellion by midsummer. 



THE HUDSON. 91 



So long as the Republicans remained united, so long as there existed a 
free communication between Massachusetts and Virginia, or, in other 
■words, between the Eastern and the Middle and Southern States, permanent 
success of the British arms in America seemed (Questionable. The rebellion 
was hydra-headed, springing into new life and vigour suddenly and 
powerfully, from the inherent energies of union, in places where it seemed 
to be subdued or destroyed. To sever that union, and to paralyse the 
vitality dependent thereon, was a paramount consideration of the British 
Government when planning the campaign of 1777. 

General Sir William Howe was then in quiet possession of the city of 
New York, at the mouth of the Hudson river. A strong British force 
occupied Rhode Island, and kept watch over the whole eastern coast of 
New England. Republicans who had invaded Canada had been driven 
back by Governor Carleton ; and nothing remained to complete the separa- 
tion of the two sections of the American States, but to march an invading 
army from Canada, secure the strongholds upon Lakes George and Cham- 
plain, press forward to Albany, and there form a junction with Howe, 
whose troops, meanwhile, should have taken possession of the Hudson 
Highlands, and every place of importance upon that river. 

The leadership of that invasion from the North was intrusted to 
Lieutenant-General Sir John Burgoyne, who had won military laurels in 
Portugal, had held a seat in the king's council, and was then a member 
of Parliament. He arrived at Quebec in March, 1777, and in June had 
collected a large force of English and German troops, Canadians, and 
Indians, at the foot of Lake Champlain. At the beginning of July ho 
invested Ticonderoga with ten thousand men, drove the Americans from 
that old fortress and its dependencies, and, as we have observed, swept 
victoriously up the lake to Skenesborough, and advanced to Fort Edward. 
From that point he sent a detachment to Bennington, in Vermont, to 
sei/o cattle and provisions for the use of the army. The expedition was 
defeated by militia, under Stark, and thereby Burgoyne received a blow 
from which he did not recover. Yet he moved forward, crossed the Hudson 
a little above Schuylerville, and pitched his tents, and formed a fortified 
camp upon the site of that village. He had stated at Fort Edward that 
he should eat his Christmas dinner in Albany, a laurelled conqueror, with 



92 THE HUDSON. 



the great objects of the campaign perfectly accomplished ; but now he 
began to doubt. 

General Schuyler had been the commander of the troops opposed to 
Eurgoyne until the 19tli of August, when he surrendered his charge to 
General Gates, a conceited officer, very much his inferior in every par- 
ticular. This superscdure had been accomplished by political intrigue. 

When Burgoync crossed the Hudson, Gates, then at the mouth of the 
Mohawk, advanced with his troops to Bemis's Height, about twelve miles 
below the halting British army, and there established a fortified camp. 
Perceiving the necessity of immediate hostile action — because the Eepub- 
lican army was hourly augmenting (volunteers flocking in from all 
quarters, and particularly from New England) — Burgoync crossed the 
Fish Creek, burned the mills and mansion of General Schuyler, and 
advanced upon Gates. 

A severe but indecisive battle was fought at Bemis's Heights on the 
1 9th of September ; Burgoync fell back a few miles toward his intrenched 
camp, and resolved there to await the expected approach of Sir Henry 
Clinton, with a large force, up the lower Hudson. Clinton was tardy, 
perils were thickening, and Burgbyne resolved to make another attack 
upon Gates. After a severe battle fought on the 7th of October, upon 
almost the same ground occupied in the engagement on the 19th of Sep- 
tember, he was again compelled to fall back. He finally retreated to his 
intrenched camp beyond the Fish Creek. 

Burgoyne's force was now hourly diminishing, the Canadians and 
Indians deserting him in great numbers, while volunteers Avere swelling 
the ranks of Gates. The latter now advanced upon Burgoync, and, on 
the 17th of October, that general surrendered his army of almost six 
thousand men, and all its appointments, into the hands of the llepublicans. 
The forts upon Lakes George and Champlain were immediately abandoned 
by the British, and the Eepublicans held an unobstructed passage from 
the Hudson Highlands to St. John, on the Sorel, in Canada. 

The spot where Burgoyne's army laid down their arms is upon the 
plain in front of Schuylerville, near the site of old Fort Hardy, a little 
north of the highway leading from the village across the Hudson, over 
the long bridge already mentioned. Our view is taken from one of the 



THE HUDSON. 



93 



canal bridges, looking north-cast. The Hudson is seen beyond the place 
of surrender, and in the more remote distance may be observed the conical 
hills which, on the previous day, had swarmed with American volunteers. 
"With the delicate courtesy of a gentleman. General Gates ordered all 
his army within his camp, that the vanquished might not be submitted to 
the mortification of their gaze at the moment of the great humiliation. 
The two generals had not yet seen each other. As soon as the troops had 
laid down their arms, Burgoync and his officers proceeded towards Gates's 






SCENE OF Bl'KGOyKE'S SUEEEXDEE. 



camp, to be introduced. They crossed the Fish Creek at the head of the 
rapids, and proceeded towards the republican general's quarters, about a 
mile and a-half down the river. Burgoyne led the way, with Kingston 
(his adjutant-general), and his aides-de-camp, Captain Lord Petersham 
and Lieutenant "Wilford, followed by Generals Phillips, Eeidesel, and 
Hamilton, and other officers, according to rank. General Gates, informed 
of the approach of Burgoync, went out with his staff to meet him at the 
head of his camp. Bui'goyne was dressed in a rich uniform of scarlet and 
gold, and Gates in a plain blue frock coat. "When within about a sword's 



94 



THE HUDSON. 



length of each other, they reined np their horses, and halted. Colonel 
"Wilkinson, Gates's aide-de-camp, then introduced the two generals. Both 
dismounted, and Burgoyne, raising his hat gracefully, said — " The 
fortune of war, General Gates, has made me your prisoner." The victor 
promptly replied — "I shall always he ready to bear testimony that it 
has not been through any fault of your excellency." The other officers 
were then introduced in turn, and the whole party repaired to Gates's 
head-quarters, where the best dinner that could be procured was served. 
The plain farmhouse in which that remarkable dinner-party was 




C ATEfa'fe HE \.D i^l \ElEEfc> 



assembled remained unaltered externally when we visited it, excepting 
such changes as have been effected by nccessaiy repairs. It stood about 
eighty rods from the Hudson, on the western margin of the plain ; and 
between it and the river the Champlain Canal passed. Our sketch was 
made from the highway, and includes giimses of the canal, the river, and 
the hills on the eastern side of the plain. 

The Baroness Bcidesel, in her narrative of these events, says : "I was, 
I confess, afraid to go over to the enemy, as it was quite a new situation 



THE HUDSON. 95 



to me. When I drew near the tents, a handsome man approached and 
met me, took my children from the caleche, and hugged and kissed them, 
which affected me almost to tears. 'You tremble,' said he, addressing 
himself to me; 'be not afraid.' 'No,' I answered, ' you seem so kind 
and tender to my children, it inspires mc with courage.' He now led me 
to the tent of General Gates, where I found Generals Burgoyne and Phillips, 
who were on a friendly footing with the former. 

"All the generals remained to dine with General Gates. The same 
gentleman who received me so kindly, now came and said to me, * You 
will be very much embarrassed to eat with all those gentlemen ; come 
with your children to my tent, where I will prepare for you a frugal 
dinner, and give it with a free will.' I said, ' You are certainly a husband 
and a father, you have shown me so much kindness.' I now found that 
he was General Schuylee. He treated me with excellent smoked tongue, 
beef-steaks, potatoes, and good bread and butter. JSTever could I have 
wished to eat a better dinner. I was content ; I saw all around me were 
so likewise. When we had dined, he told me his residence was at Albany, 
and that General Burgoyne intended to honour him as his guest, and 
invited myself and children to do so likewise. I asked my husband how 
I should act; he told me to accept the invitation." General Schuyler's 
house at Albany yet remains, and there we shall hereafter meet the 
Baroness and Burgoyne, as guests of that truly noble republican. 

The Hudson, from Schuylerville to Stillwater, a distance of about 
thirteen miles, flows through a rich plain, and its course is unbroken by 
island, rapid, or bridge. Between it and the western margin of the plain 
is the Champlain Canal, bearing upon its quiet bosom the wealth of a 
large internal commerce, extending from New York and Albany to Canada. 
It was spanned, for the convenience of the farmers through whose land it 
passes, with numerous bridges, stiff and ungraceful in appearance, and all 
of the same model. A picture of one of tliem is given at the head of this 
chapter. The river was also crossed in several places by means of rope 
ferries. These, at times, presented quite picturesque scenes, when men 
and women, teams, live stock, and merchandize, happen to constitute the 
freight at one time. The vehicle was a large scow or battcau, which was 
pushed by means of long poles, that reached to the bottom of the river ; 



96 THE HUDSON. 



and it was kept in its course, in defiance of the current, by ropes fore and 
aft, attached by friction rollers to a stout cable stretched across the stream. 
There were several of these ferries between Tort Edward and Stillwater, 
the one most used being that at Bemis's Heights, of which we give a 
drawing. 

Three miles- below Schuylerville, on the same side of the river, is the 
hamlet -of Coveville, formerly called Do-ve-gat, or Yan Yechten's Cove. 
It is a pretty, quiet little place, and sheltered by hills in the rear ; the 





ROPE FEERy. 

inhabitants are chiefly agriculturists, and the families of those employed 
in canal navigation. HereBurgoyne halted, and encamped for two days, 
after leaving his intrenched camp to confront Gates, while a working 
party repaired the roads and bridges in advance to Wilbur's Basin, three 
miles below. He then advanced, and pitched his tents at the latter place, 
upon the narrow plain between the river and the hills, and upon the 
slopes. Here he also encamped on the morning after the first battle at 
Bemis's Heights, the opening of a cloudy, dull, and cheerless day, that 
harmonised with the feelings of the British commander. He felt con- 



THE HUDSON. 



97 



yinced that, without the aid of General Clinton's co-operation in drawing 
off a part of the republican army to the defence of the country below, he 
should not be able to advance. Yet he wrought diligently in strengthening 
his position. He erected four redoubts, one upon each of four hills, two 
above and two below Wilbur's Basin, and made lines of intrenchments 
from them to the river, covering each with a battery. From this camp 
he marched to battle on the 7th of October, and in that engagement lost 




BiUfaO\NL's ENCVMi ^II'^^ (iiom i iiiiit puUivIinl in London, in 177 



his gallant friend. General Simon Frascr, who, at the head of five hundred 
picked men, was the directing spirit of the Eritish troops in action. This 
was perceived by the American commanders, for Eraser's skill and courage 
were everywhere conspicuous. "When the lines gave way, he brought 
order out of confusion ; when regiments began to waver, he infused 
courage into them by voice and example. He was mounted upon a 
splendid iron-grey gelding, and dressed in the full uniform of a field 
officer. He was thus made a conspicuous object for the mark of the 
Americans. 

It was evident that the fate of the battle depended upon General Frascr, 



98 



THE HUDSON. 



and this the keen eye and quick judgment of Colonel Morgan, commander 
of a rifle corps from the south, perceived. A thought flashed through his 
brain, and in an instant he prepared to execute a deadly purpose. Calling 
a file of his best men around him, he said, as he pointed toward the 
British right wing, which was making its way victoriously, — "That 
gallant officer is General Eraser; I admire and honour him, but it is 
necessary he should die ; victory for the enemy depends upon him. Take 
your stations in that clump of bushes, and do your duty." "Within five 
minutes after this order was given. General Fraser fell, and was carried 




't^-''^ 



^1 s ^ ^ -4 



HOUSE IN "WIIXLU i.;L.M.i.Ai. ix.Abl.i: DIED. 



from the field by two grenadiers. His aide-de-camp had just observed 
that the general was a particular mark for the enemy, and said, — " "Would 
it not be i:)rudent for you to retire from this place?" Frascr replied, 
"ITy duty forbids me to fly from danger," and the next moment he fell. 
About half way between "Wilbur's Basin and Bemis's, stood, until 
within twenty years, a rude building, the upper half somewhat projecting, 
and every side of it battered and pierced by bullets. It was used by 
Burgoyne as his quarters when he first moved forward to attack Gates, 



THE HUDSON. 



99 



and there tlie Baron Eeidesel had his quarters at the time of the battle of 
the 7th of October. Thither the wounded Praser was conveyed by his 
grenadiers, and consigned to the care of the wife of the Brunswick 
general. 

"About four o'clock in the afternoon," says the baroness, "instead of 
the guests [Burgoyne and Phillips] whom I expected to dinner. General 
Eraser was brought on a litter mortally wounded. The table, which was 
already set, was instantly removed, and a bed placed in its stead for the 
wounded general. He said to the surgeon, ' Tell me if my wound is 





feaser's burial-place. 



mortal ; do not flatter me.' The ball had passed through his body, and, 
unhappily for the general, he had eaten a very hearty breakfast, by which 
the stomach was distended, and the ball, as the surgeon said, had passed 
through it. I often heard him exclaim, with a sigh, ' fatal ambition ! 
Poor General Burgoyne ! my dear wife ! ' He was asked if he had any 
request to make, to which he replied, that, if General Burgoyne would 
permit it, he should like to be buried at six o'clock in the evening, on the 
top of a mount, in a redoubt which had been built there." 



100 



THE HUDSON. 



General Eraser died at eight o'clock the following morning, and was 
buried in the redoubt upon the hill at six o'clock that evening, according 
to his desire.* It was just at sunset, on a mild October evening, when 
the funeral procession moved slowly up the hill, bearing the body of the 
gallant dead. It was composed of only the members of his own military 
family, the commanding generals, and Mr. Brudenell, the chaplain ; yet 
the eyes of hundi'eds of both armies gazed upon the scene. The Americans, 







NEIiSON'S HOUSE, BEMIS'S HEIGHTS. 



ignorant of the true character of the procession, kept up a constant can- 
nonade upon the redoubt, toward which it was moving. Undismayed, 
the companions of Eraser buried him just as the evening shadows came 
on. Before the impressive burial services of the Anglican Church were 
ended, the irregular firing ceased, and the solemn voice of a single canon, 
at measured intervals, boomed along the valley, and awakened responses 
from the hills. It was a minute-gun, fired by the Americans in honour 



» The redoubt was upon the middle one of the three liilla seen in the picture of Bm-goyuo'd 
encunipincut. 



THE HUDSON. 



101 



of the accomplished soldiei". "When information reached the Republicans 
that the gathering at the redoubt was a funeral company, fulfilling the 
wishes of a brave officer, the cannonade with balls instantly ceased. 

Other gallant British officers were severely wounded on that day ; one 
of these was the accomplished Major Ackland, of the grenadiers, who was 
accompanied in the campaign by his charming wife, the Lady Harriet, 
fifth daughter of Stephen, first Earl of Ilchester, and great-grandmother 
of the present Earl of Carnarvon. He was shot through both legs, and 
conveyed to the house of Mr. Neilsou, upon Bemis's Heights, within the 
American lines. 




CHAPTEE YI. 




jHE heroic Lady Ackland had listened to the thunder of 
the battle in which her husband was engaged, and 
when, on the morning of the 8th, the British fell back 
in confusion toward Wilbur's Basin, she, with the 
other women, was obliged to take refuge among the 
dead and dying, for the tents were all struck, and hardly a shed 
was left standing. Then she was informed that her husband was 
wounded and a prisoner. She instantly sought the advice of her 
■''- friend, the Baroness Eeidesel, and resolved to visit the American 
camp, and implore the privilege of a personal attendance upon her husband. 
She sent a message by Lord Petersham to Burgoyne, asking his permission 
to depart. The general was astonished that, after all she had endured 
from exposure to cold, hunger, and heavy rain, she should be capable of 
such an undertaking. " The assistance I was enabled to give," he said, 
" was small indeed. I had not even a cup of wine to offer her; but I 
was told she had found, from some kind and fortunate hand, a little rum 
and dirty water. All I could furnish to her was an open boat, and a few 
lines written upon dirty wet paper, to General Gates, recommending her 
to his protection." * 

Lady Harriet set out in an open boat on the Hudson, accompanied by 
Chaplain Brudenell, her waiting-maid, and her husband's valet, who had 



* Tlie followiiifT is a copy of Burgoyne's nolo to Gates : — 

SIH, — Lady Harriet Ackland, a lady of the first distinction of family, rank, and personal virtues, is 
under such concern on account of Major Ackland, her husband, wounded and a prisoner in your hands, 
that I cannot refuse her request to commit her to youi" protection. Whatever general impropriety there 
may be in persons of my situation and yours to solicit favours, I cannot see the uncommon perseverance 
in eveiy female grace and exaltation of character of this lady, and her very hard fortune, without 
testifying that your attention to her will lay me under obligations. / 

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 

J. Burgoyne. 
Tliis note is preserved among Gates's manuscript papers, in the collection of the New York Historical 
Society. 



THE HUDSON. 



103 



been severely "wounded wliile searching for liis master on the battle-field. 
They started at sunset, in the midst of a violent storm of wind and rain. 
It was long after dark when they reached the American outposts, and 
there they were detained, in a comfortable position, until orders should 
be received from head-quarters. Early in the morning she received the 
joyful tidings that her husband was safe. At the same time she was 
treated with paternal kindness by General Gates, who sent her to her 
husband at Neilson's house, under a suitable escort. She found him 
suffering, but well taken care of, in the portion of the house occupied as 




ROOM OCCUPIED BY MAJOE ACKLAXI), 



quarters by General Poor, and there she remained until Major Ackland 
was removed to Albany, and finally to New York.'^' 

From the house of Mr. Neilson, whose descendants now occupy it, a 
fine view of the surrounding country may be obtained. On the north and 
west, beginning at its very doors, lies the entire battle-ground of the 19th 
of September ; and bounding the horizon in the distance beyond, are the 
Luzerne Mountains (already mentioned), through which flow the waters 
of the Upper Hudson. On the east rise Willard's Mountain, the heights 
of Bennington, the Green Mountains, and the famous Mount Tom ; and 
stretching away in the blue distances towards Albany, are seen the gentle 
hills and beautiful valley of the Hudson. And there the visitor may see 



* Major Acklaud died in November, 177S. On lier return to England, a portrait of Lady Harriet, 
standing in a boat, with a wliite handkercliief in her hand as a tiag of truce, was exliibited at the Roj-al 
Academy (London), from which a plate was afterwards engraved. The person of her ladyship was 
spoken of as " higlily graceful and delicate," and her manners " elegantly feminine." 



104 



THE HUDSON. 



many relics from the battle-field, turned up by the plough, such as 
cannon-balls, bullets, Indian tomahawks and knives, rusty musket barrels, 
bayonets, halberds, militaiy buttons, pieces of money, et caetera. 

At the foot of Bemis's Heights, where the old tavern of Bemis — 
famous for good wines and long pipes, a spacious ball-room and a rich 
larder — once stood, a pleasant hamlet has grown iip. It is one of the 
numerous offsprings of the canal. Two miles below it, at the head of 
long rapids, is Stillwater, the most pleasing in situation and appearance 
of all the villages in the valley of the Upper Hudson. It is otherwise 
remarkable only for a long, gloomy, and unsightly covered toll-bridge, 
which, resting upon several huge piers, spans the Hudson ; and also as 




EELICS FROM THE BATTLE-FIELD. 



the head-quarters of the republican array, for a short time, in the summer 
of 1777, after they had retreated dowa the valley before victorious 
Burgoyne. The house of Derrick Swart, where General Schuyler had 
his quarters at that time, was yet standing in the upper part of the village, 
and awakened in the mind of the historical student recollections of a scene 
that occurred there at a most gloomy period of the campaign. The army, 
wretchedly furnished and daily diminishing, had retreated before an 
exultant foe; food, clothing, and artillery were all wanting. The 
pecuniary resources and public credit of the continental congress were 
failing, and all the future seemed dark. At that moment intelligence 
came that Colonel St. Leger, who had been sent up the St. Lawrence by 
Burgoyne, with instructions to cross Lake Ontario to Oswego, penetrate 



I 



THE HUDSON. 



105 



the Mohawk valley from that point, form an alliance with the Tories and 
Indians, and press forward to Albany with destructive energy, had actually 
appeared before Port Schuyler, where the village of Eome now stands. 
The people of the Mohawk valley were wild with consternation, and sent 
swift messengers to General Schuyler, imploring immediate assistance. 
The prudent foresight and far-reaching humanity of that ofiicer at once 
dictated his course. He called a council of officers at his quarters, and 
proposed sending a detachment immediately to the relief of Fort Schuyler. 




DtERICK SWAEl b UOLSE AT STILL WATEE 



They opposed him with the argument that his whole force was insufficient 
to stay the progress of Burgoyne. Schuyler persisted in his opinion, and 
earnestly besought them to second his views. His political enemies had 
already sown the seeds of distrust concerning his intentions ; and as he 
was pacing the floor in anxious solicitude, he heard fi'om one of his 
subordinate officers the half- whispered remark, " He means to weaken 
the army." Never was a thought more unjust and ungenerous ! "Wheeling 
suddenly toward the slanderer and those around him, and unconsciously 
biting into several pieces a pipe that he was smoking, Schuyler indignantly 



106 THE HUDSON. 



exclaimed, "Gentlemen, I shall take the responsibility upon myself; 
where is the brigadier that will take command of the relief ? I shall 
beat up for voluuteers to-morrow." 

The brave and impulsive Arnold, who afterwards became a traitor, at 
once stepped forward. The next morning, when the drum beat for 
volunteers, no less than eight hundred strong men offered their services. 
They were enrolled ; Eort Schuyler was saved, and the forces of St. Leger 
scattered to the winds. In after years the recollection of those burning 
words of calumny always stirred the spii-it of the veteran patriot with 
violent emotions ; for if ever a bosom glowed with true devotion to his 
country, it was that of Philip Schuyler. 

From Stillwater to Troy at the head of free sloop navigation, a distance 
of about sixteen miles, the Hudson flows in a rapid stream, sometimes 
turbulent, but generally with a placid current. The valley, maintaining 
the same average width and general aspect, becomes richer in numerous 
farm-houses and more careful cultivation as we approach the cluster of 
large towns whose clnirch spii'cs maybe seen soon after leaving Mechanics- 
villc [ind Half-Moon, two pleasant little villages on the west bank of the 
Hudson. These are in the township of Half-Moon, so called in memory 
of Hcndrick Hudson's famous yacht, in which he discovered the river 
that bears his name. They are a short distance below Stillwater. The 
Champlain Canal and the Eensselaer and Saratoga llailway pass through 
them. On the site of the latter village stood "y*^ ffort of y«= Half-Moon, 
about j^ house and barne of Harm^ Lieves^ " — a stockade for defence 
against the Indians. It was removed in the year 1689. 

The summer drive upon the public road in this part of the valley is 
delightful. The plain and slopes have the appearance of a garden ; while 
the hills on both sides present sweet pictures of mingled forest and culti- 
vated fields, enlivened by small flocks and herds, and dotted with the 
homes of a thrifty people. But the river appears solitary. Not a boat 
may be seen upon it, until Waterford is passed, for the current is too 
swift for navigation. " The water in the river here," wrote Kalm, the 
Swedish naturalist and traveller, in his journal, more than one hundred 
years ago, "was very clear, and generally shallow, being only from two 
to four feet deep, running very violently against us in most places." 



THE HUDSON. 



107 



Between Mechanicsville and "Waterford, near the junction of two rail- 
ways, the viaduct of the Vermont Central Eailroad, twelve hundred feet 
in length, stretches across the Hudson. It is constructed of square 
timber, and rests upon heavy stone piers, besides the shore abutments. 
From that point to "Waterford, the river views from the highway are very 
picturesque, and when within half a mile of that large village upon Half- 
Moon Point, at a bend in the stream, the traveller obtains a sight of 
"Waterford and Lausingburgh, on opposite sides of the river, with the 




VIADl'CT OF THE VERMONT CENTRAL RAILWAY. 



covered toll-bridge that connects them. The church spires of Troy are 
also seen, and in dim blue outline, in the extreme southern horizon, 
appear the higher spurs of the Katzbergs, or Catskill Mountains. 

"Waterford is a very pleasant town, at the confluence of the Mohawk 
and Hudson rivers, and had then a little more than three thousand 
inhabitants. It stands upon the level bank of the Hudson. Most of its 
streets are fringed with the maple and elm, the ftivourite shade trees 
in the northern and eastern villages and cities of the United States. It 
is a young town, compared with Lausingburgh, its still more pleasant 



108 



THE HUDSON. 



neighbour across the river, which was dignified with the title of New 
City as early as 1788, when its now stately rival, Troy, could not boast 
of half-a-dozen houses, and was known only as Yanderheyden, or Ashley's 
Ferry. It has outstripped that older town in population, and equals it 
in enterprise. Between them the current of the Hudson is strong, yet 
vessels laden with merchandise ascend to the wharves of each, with the 




WATEBFOED AND LANSINGBUEGH BRIDGE. 



aid of small steam-tugs, which tow them from the draw of the great 
bridge at Troy, two miles below. 

At "Waterford the ear catches the subdued roar of Cohoes Falls* in the 
Mohawk river, three-fourths of a mile distant. That stream is the largest 
tributary of the Hudson. It flows eastward, with a rapid current most 
of the way, from Oneida County, in the interior of the State of New 
York, through one of the richest agricultural regions in the world, for 
about one hundred and thirty-five miles, and enters the Hudson in four 



* Cah-hoos, an Iroquois word, according to Brant, the great Mohawk chief, signifying a canoe 
falling. 



THE HUDSON. 109 



channels, formed by three islands, named respectively. Van Hover's, Yan 
Schaick's, or Cohoes, and Green or Tibbett's Islands. Van Schaick's 
alone, which is almost inaccessible at many points, because of its high 
rocky shores, has escaped the transforming hand of improvement. There, 
in the summer of 1777, General Schuyler cast up some fortifications, with 
the determination to dispute with Burgoyne the passage of the Mohawk. 
Faint traces of those intrenchments may yet be seen ; and, in the spring of 
1860, a large zinc cartridge-box was found in that vicinity, supposed to 
have been left when General Schuyler moved northward. The banks of 
Van Schaick's are steep, a forest of evergreens clothes a large portion of its 
surface, and only a solitary barn indicates its cognizance by man. 

Green Island, the larger of the three, stretches along the upper part of 
Troy, and is a theatre of industry for a busy population, engaged chiefly 
in manufactures, or in employments connected with railways. There 
was the immense establishment of Messrs. Eaton, Gilbert, & Co. (after- 
ward destroyed by fire), the most extensive manufacturers of railway 
carriages, omnibuses, and stage coaches in the United States, if not in the 
world. 

The scenery about the mouth of the Mohawk, particularly in the 
vicinity of Cohoes Falls, is exceedingly picturesque, and at some points 
really grand. A highway bridge, nine hundred feet in length, and a 
railway viaduct still longer, cross the river over the rapids a short distance 
below the falls. From the former, a fine distant view of the cataract and 
the rapids below may be obtained ; but the best places to observe them in 
all their beauty and grandeur, are at and near the Cataract House, in the 
village of Cohoes, which stands upon the summit verge of a precipice one 
hundred and seventy feet in height. Down a steep slope of that precipice, 
for about fifty feet, the proprietor has constructed a fiight of steps, and 
upon the top of a broad terrace at their foot he has planted a flower garden, 
for the enjoyment of visitors. Around its edge, from which may bo 
obtained a view of the entire cataract, is a railing with seats, and there 
the visitor may contemplate at ease the wild scene on every hand. On 
his left, as he gazes up the river, rush large streams of water from the 
top of the precipice above him, in almost perpendicular currents, from the 
waste-sluices of a canal, which, commencing at a dam almost two miles 



110 



THE HUDSON. 



above the falls, conveys water to numerous mill-wheels in the village. 
By this means immense hydraulic power is obtained and distributed.* 




I 



VIEW AT C0H0E3 FALLS. 



The width of the grand cataract of Cohoes is nine hundred feet, and 
the fall seventy-eight feet, of which about forty arc perpendicular. 



* The water-power at Cohoes was under the control of a stock company, who rented it to the pro- 
prietors of mills and factories. The entu-c fall of water controlled by the company was one hundred and 
twenty feet ; and the muiimiun supply of water was one thousand cubic feet each second. The estimated 
value of the various articles manufactured tliere at that time, was iieai'ly three millions of dollars 
per anniun. 



THE HUDSON. Ill 



Below the fall, the water rushes over a rocky bed, in foaming rapids, 
between high banks, to the plain, where the islands divide it into 
channels, and through these it flows gently into the Hudson. It was a 
beautiful afternoon in early spring when we visited the falls. The water 
was abundant, for the snow upon the hills that border the charming 
valley of the Mohawk was rapidly melting, and filled the river to the 
brim. We never saw the cataract in more attractive form, and left it 
with reluctance when the declining sun admonished us to ride back to 
"Waterford, for we intended to cross the long bridge there, pass through 
Lansingburgh, and lodge that night in Troy. It was just at sunset when 
we crossed the bridge and entered the beautiful avenue which leads 
through Lansingburgh, into the heart of Troy. Through the village it is 
shaded with stately elms, and along the whole distance of two miles 
between that " New City" of the past and modern Troas, it follows the 
bank of the river in a straight line, and aff'ords a most delightful drive in 
summer. 

In the upper suburb of Troy we came to a mass of rock rising a few 
yards from the avenue to the height of fifty or sixty feet, with a tall, 
crooked sapling shooting up from its summit, which had been placed 
there for a flagstafi". The classical taste which gave the name of the city 
built where the dappled heifer of Ilus lay down, to this modern town, 
when it was little more than a hamlet, and which dignified the irregular 
hill that overlooks it with the title of Mount Ida (called Ida Hill by the 
inhabitants), named this rocky peak Mount Olympus. We saw nothing 
upon its " awful summit " to remind us of the Thessalian dwelling-place 
of the gods; and the apparition nearest to that of ''Olympian Jove" 
(whom the artists portrayed in human form) that we saw in the fading 
twilight, was a ragged boy, with a cigar in his mouth, vainly endeavour- 
ing to climb the sapling. 

The peak of Olympus was once much higher. It has been carried 
away from time to time to furnish materials for docks, and in strengthening 
the dam, twelve hundred feet in length, which the State built across the 
Hudson at this point to furnish a feeder to the Champlain Canal. The 
water at the dam has a fall of about twelve feet, and at the east end is a 
heavy lock, constructed of hewn stone, through which sloops and other 



112 



THE HUDSON. 



vessels are taken into the river above, and towed by steam-tugs, as we 
have observed, np to Lansingburgh and Waterford. Just above the dam, 
and near Waterford, there is a communication between the canal and the 
river, and many loaded boats from the former there enter the latter, pass 
through the lock, and are towed, some to Troy and Albany, and others to 
New York. The dam also furnishes water power to a number of mills 
on the Troy shore below it, into which grain is taken from vessels lying 
at the docks, by means of " elevators " worked by the water wheels. 
These form a striking feature in the scene below the dam. 

From the lock may be obtained an excellent view of the river below. 




LOCK AT STATE DAM, TEOY. 



with the last of the bridges that then spanned the Hudson. Since then 
a railway-bridge has been thrown across it at Albany, six miles below. 
Glimpses of Troy, and "Watervliet or "West Troy opposite, and of the 
Katzbergs, thirty miles distant, were obtained from the same point of 
view. The Troy Bridge Avas sixteen hundi'ed feet in length, and 
connected Green Island with the main, having a draw at the eastern end 
for vessels to pass through. It was used as a public highway in crossing 
the river, and also as a viaduct of the Eensselaer and Saratoga Railway. 
It was built of timber, was closely covered, and rested upon heavy stone 
piers. It crossed where formerly lay a group of beautiful little islands, 
when Troy was in its infancy. They have almost disappeared, except 



THE HUDSON. 113 



the larger one, which is bisected by the bridge. Among these islands 
shad and sturgeon, fish that abound in every part of the river below, were 
caught in large quantities, but they are seldom seen there now. 

Troy, the capital of Eensselaer County, is six miles above Albany, at 
the head of tide-water, one hundred and fifty-one miles from the city of 
New York. It is a port of entry, and its commerce is very extensive for 
an inland town. It is seated upon a plain between the foot of Mount Ida 
and the river. It has crept up that hill in some places, but very 
cautiously, because the earth is unstable, and serious avalanches have 
from time to time occurred. Its site Avas originally known as Ferry 
Hook, then Ashley's Ferry, ■^'' and finally Yandei'heyden, the name of the 
first proprietor of the soil on which Troy stands, after it was conveyed in 
fee from the Patroon of Eensslaerwyck, in the year 1720. After the 
Ilevolution the spot attracted some attention as an eligible village site. 
Town lots were laid out there in the summer of 1787, and two years 
afterward the freeholders of the embryo city, at a meeting in Albany, 
resolved that "in future it should be called and known. by the name of 
Troy." At the same time, with the prescience of observing men, they 
said — " It may not be too sanguine to expect, at no very distant period, 
to see Troy as famous for her trade and navigation as many of our first 
towns." It was incorporated a village in 1801, and a city in 1816. 

From the beginning Troy was a rival of Lansingburgh. It was settled 
chiefly by enterprising New England people. They perceived the 
advantages of their location at the head of tide- water and sloop naviga- 
tion, between two fine streams (Pocsten Kill and "Wynant's Kill) tliat 
flow in wild cascades from Mount Ida and its connections, aff'ording 

« Stephen Aslilej- kept the first tavern at the ferij', in the farm-house of Matthias VanderheyJen, on 
the south-east corner of Kiver and Division Streets. It is the oldest house in Troy, having been built 
as early as 1752. On tlic front of the house, between the two , 

windows on the left, was a brick, on which was cut " q V H. A.D. 
1752." The initials stood for Derick (Richard) Vanderhej-den. 
The D was reversed. Between the second window on the left and 
the door was another brick inscribed "M V H. 1752." These were 
the initials of Matthias Vanderheydcn. South of the window on 
the right, and a little above it, was another brick inscribed " I V H. 
1752." These were the initials of Jacob Vanderheydcn. Matthias VA^■I)illUlJii■JLlli^■ uuLSii. 

occupied this, and the other two built houses elsewhere on the 

plot. Asliley afterward kept an inn at the comer of River and Feny Streets. On liis sign was a por- 
trait of Washington, and the words " Why here's Ashley's." 

Q 




114 



THE HUDSON. 



extensive water power. After a hard struggle, Troy was made tli3 county- 
seat, and the court-liouse was erected there, and from that time the 
growth of Lansingburgh was slow, whilst Troy increased with wonderful 
rapidity. The former had 6,000 inhabitants in 1860, and the latter 
almost 50,000, It has always been conspicuous for well-directed and 
associated public spirit, and its institutions of learning are among the 
best in the land. The most noted of these are the Eensselaer Institute, 
founded and endowed by the late Stephen Van Eensselaer of the Manor, 




EEXSSKLAER AND SARATOGA EAILH'AV BUIDGE. 



the Troy Female Seminary, and the Troy University. The latter was 
established under the auspices of the Methodist denomination, but the 
funds for the buikling were liberally subscribed by men of various sects. 
It stands upon Mount Ida, and is tlie most conspicuous object in a view 
of the city seen from any point. In its immediate vicinity are beautiful 
residences, which command extensive and interesting pictures of town 
and country. In their chaste and modest style of architecture, they 
present striking contrasts to the more meretricious "Byzantine stylo" of 
the TJniversitv, 



THE HUDSON. 



115 



Opposite Troy is the bustling village of West Troy (formerly AVater- 
vlict), with a population of about 9,000 in 1860. At the south end of 
the village, and occupying a front of a quarter of a mile along the 
west bank of the Hudson, is the United States Military establishment 
called the AVatcrvlict Arsenal. It was one of the largest of the six 
principal establishments then belonging to the United States, where, 
under tlie direction of the Ordnance Department, were manufactured the 
arms and munitions of war required for the rise of the army and the 




Vli-W OF 'XUOX ii.(j;.I lluUi'i' liiA. 



militia before the Civil War. About twelve acres of land were purchased 
at that point by the United States, in 1813, for arsenal purposes, and the 
group of buildings seen in the sketch was erected. The grounds com- 
prised about one hundred acres, part covered with necessary buildings and 
a parade, and the remainder was under cultivation. About two hundred 
yards west of the highway, the Erie Canal passed through the grounds, 
and was spanned by a picturesque iron bridge near the officers' quarters. 
Along the river front was a double row of stately elm trees, whose 
branches form a leafy arch over the highway in summer. From these the 



116 



THE HUDSON. 



green -sward bank slopes gently toward the river, and affords a deliglitful 
promenade on summer afternoons."^' 

The highway along the plain from "West Albany is a fine macadamised 




UXITED STAlliS AHcl-.XAI. AT WAlEKVLlET. 



road, with the Erie Canal, the Hudson, and the amphitheatre of the 
Greenbush heights on the left. The hills on the right are' near, and 



* I \v;is iiuk'b;L'd to tlie coui'tcsy of Lieutenant George T. Balch, then stationed there, for Uie 
following facts: — "As tJie necessity for greater manufacturing facilities arose, additional lands were 
purchased, and extensive shops, storehouses, timber-sheds, magazines, barracks and quarters, were 
erected from time to time, until at the present (1860), the real estate and the improvements ai'e valued 
at 500,000 dollars, and the militarj' stores and supplies collected, ui the various buildings, at 1,500,000. 
The principal operations earned on are the manufacture of heavy artillery carriages for the sea-coast 
forts, with all the requisite unplements and equipments ; caiTiages for siege trains and field batteries, 
with their equipments and harness ; all machines used in transporting and repairing artillery ; ammu- 
nition of all kinds for sea-coast, siege, and field guns, and for small arms, and the repair and ijreservation 
of the large quantity of material of war in store. The shops comprise all requisite facilities for the 
various mechanics employed, as well as a conveniently arranged and roomy laboratory. The motive 
power is water, furnished by the Erie Canal. Under ordinarj' cu-cumstances from 110 to 150 workmen 
are employed, but, when the exigencies of the service demand it, 500 to 600 can easily be accommodated. 
The establishment is under the control of a field officer of the ordnance department, assisted by subalterns 
of the same, a military storekeeper and paymaster, who is a civilian, and the re(juisife master, work- 
men, &c. Forty enlisted Ordnance men are at present stationed at the post, who perform the necessary 
guard duty and drills, and are at oUier times variously engaged in out-of-door and mechanical emplo}'- 
ments. The United States have exclusive control of the grounds included within the arsenal enclosure, 
the State exercising only concurrent jurisdiction in civil actions and criminal cases." 



THE HUDSON. 



ir 



pleasant mansions and fertile acres are seen on every side. There is a 
house a mile and a half below the arsenal, scarcely visible from the road 
because of trees and shrubbery which conceal it, and, when seen, it would 
not attract special attention, excepting for the extreme plainness and 
antiquated style of its architecture. A pleasant lane leads to it from the 
canal, and the margin of the sloping lawn on its river front, over which 
stately elms cast their shadows, is swept by the Hudson's tide. It is 
famous in colonial history as the residence of Colonel Peter Schuyler, of 




b(JUUlLliE UOLJiE AT TUK I'LAIS. 



the Flats, the first Mayor of Albany, and who, as Indian Commissioner, 
in after years took four kings or sachems, of the Mohawks, to England, 
and presented them at the court of Queen Anne. After his death, his 
son Philip, the well-beloved of the Mohawks, who married his sweet 
cousin Katrina — the "Aunt Schuyler" immortalised by Mrs. Grant, of 
Laggan, in her charming pictures of "Albany Society a Hundred Years 
Ago" — resided there, and with ample resources dispensed hospitality 
with a bounteous hand. And yet this is not the identical house in which 
the mayor lived, and his son Philip entertained friends and strangers, but 
the one built upon its ruins, in the same style, the summer days of which 



118 THE HUDSON. 



arc so charmingly portrayed by Mrs. Grant. The old one was consumed 
by fire in the summer of 1759, when Philip had been dead eighteen 
months, and " Aunt Schuyler," his widow, whose waist he spanned with 
his hands when they were married forty years before, had grown to such 
enormous dimensions, that a chair was made for her special use. In 
that chair she was seated, under the cherry-trees in the lane, one hot day 
in August, when the eminent Colonel John Bradstreet, riding up, gave 
her the first intimation that her house was on fire. "With calmness she 
kept her seat, and gave directions to her servants and neighbours how to 
check the flames, and to save her most valued articles. Before evening 
the blackened brick walls were all that were left of that pleasant mansion. 
Aunt Schuyler had a larger house in Albany, but she took shelter with 
her husband's deaf brother Peter, who lived upon the hills near by. 

Intelligence of the disaster brought the people from all quarters. They 
testified their love for " Aunt Schuyler " by offering their services. In a 
few days materials for a new house were collected. Colonel Bradstreet 
sent up some of the king's troops then stationed in Albany to assist in 
building, and the part of the house seen on the right in the picture, was 
completed for use before the winter set in. Over the yawning cellars of 
the late mansion a broad ^^■oodcn bridge was built, furnished with seats 
like a portico. "This," says Mrs. Grant, "with the high walls of the 
ancient house, which were a kind of screen before the new one, gave the 
whole the appearance of an ancient ruin."--' Aunt Schuyler removed 
to her house in Albany, and leased the homestead ; and, a few years 
later, the present house was built. In it a j)art of the old walls may be 
seen. It was owned when I visited it by Stephen R. Schuyler, Esq., a 
descendant of the mayor. His brother, John C. Schuyler, living upon 
the gentle hills near by, possessed a finely-executed portrait of that 
earliest chief magistrate of the city of Albany. 

As we approach Albany from the Flats, and reach the boundaries of 
"the Colonic,"! the river shores are seen covered with huge piles of 
lumber, and lined with vessels of almost every kind. The ear catches 
the distant hum of a large town and the jangle of steamboat bells, while 

* "Memoirs uf an American Li'.dy," by JI.v. Gran', of La. gan. 

t So uained because it was the seat of the ancient colony of Keusselaerwyck. 



THE HUDSON. 



119 



the city itself, built upon hills and slopes, is more than half concealed by 
the lofty trees which surround the manor house of the Yan Ecnsselaer 
family in the northern part of the city. This is one of the most 
attractive town residences in the State. The mansion, erected in 1765, 
and recently somewhat modified in external appearance, stands within a 
park of many acres, beautified by the hand of taste. It is adorned with 
fiowers and shrubbery, and its pleasant walks are shaded by grand old 
trees, some of which were, doubtless, planted or \i-CYC forest saplings, two 




VAX EFXSSELAER MAKOR IIOl'SE- 



hundred years or more ago, when the first Fairoon's mansion, with its 
reed-covered roof, was erected there. Through the grounds flows Mill 
Creek, a clear stream that comes down from the hills on the west, through 
the once sweet vale of Tivoli, where, until the construction of a railway 
eff'aced it, the music of a romantic cascade — the Falls of Tivoli — was 
heard. 

The reader may inquire why the proprietor of this estate was called 
the Patroon, and invested with manorial title and privileges. History 
furnishes an answer in this wise : — The Dutch West India Company, 
having made all proper arrangements for colonising !N'ew Netherlands, as 



120 THE HUDSON. 



New York was then called, passed a charter of privileges and exemptions 
in 1629, for the encouragement of Patroons, or patrons, to make settle- 
ments. It was provided that every Patroon, to whom privileges and 
exemptions should be granted, should, within four years after the 
establishment of a colony, have there, as permanent residents, at least 
fifty persons over fifteen years of age, one-fourth of whom should be 
located within the first year. Such piivilcges were granted to Killian 
Van Rensselaer, a pearl merchant of Amsterdam, and one of the directors 
of the West India Company, and by his direction the comniissary and 
under commissary of Fort Orange, around whose site the city of Albany 
now stands, purchased of the Indians a tract of land in that vicinity. 
Another district was afterwards purchased, and Killian Van Rensselaer 
and three others became the proprietors of a tract of land, twenty-four 
miles long, upon each side of the Hudson, and forty-eight miles broad, 
containing over 700,000 acres of land, and comprising the present 
counties of Albany, Rensselaer, and a part of Columbia. Van Rensselaer 
held two shares, and the others one share each. They were his equals in 
privileges and exemptions, except in the title of Patroon, which, with all 
the feudal honours, was vested in him alone, the partners binding them- 
selves to do fealty and homage for the fief on his demise, in the name and 
on behalf of his son and heirs. The manor did not become the sole 
property of the Van Rensselaer family until 1685. 

The Patroon was invested with power to administer civil and criminal 
justice, in person or by deputy, within his domain, and, to some extent, 
he was a sort of autocrat. These powers were abolished when the English 
took possession of the province in 1 664, and with it fell many of the 
special privileges, but, by the English law of primogeniture, that princely 
domain, farmed out to many tenants, remained in the family until the 
Revolution in 1775, and the title of Patroon was held by the late General 
Stephen Van Rensselaer, vintil his death, early in 1840, when it expired. 
A great portion of the manor has passed out of the hands of the Van 
Rensselaer family. 



CHAPTER VII. 







HE grounds around Van Rensselaer Manor House extend 
from Broadway to the river, and embrace a large 
garden and conservatory. There in the midst of 
rural scenery, the sounds of a swift-running brook, 
and almost the quietude of a sylvan retreat, the " lord 
of the manor of Rensselaerwyck," the lineal descendant of 
Killian, the pearl merchant, and first Patroon, was living when 
our sketch was made in elegant but unostentatious style — a simple 
llepublican, without the feudal title of his progenitors, except 
by courtesy. Within the mansion are collected some exquisite works of 
Art, and family portraits extending iu regular order back to the first 
Patroon. At the head of tiie great staircase leading from the spacious 
hall to the chambers was a portion of the 
illuminated Aviudow which, for one hun- 
dred and ninety years, occupied a place 
in the old Dutch Church that stood in 
the middle of State Street, at its inter- 
section by Broadway. It bears the arms 
of the Van Hensselaer family, which were 
placed in the church by the son of 
Killian. 

That old church, a sketch of which, 
with the appearance of the neighbourhood 
at the time of its demolition iu 1805, is 
seen in our picture, was a curiously 
arranged place of worship. It was built 
of stone, in 1715, over a smaller one 
erected in 1656, in which the congrega- 
tion continued to worship, until the new one was roofed. There was an 
interruption in the stated worship for only three Sabbaths. It had a low 

u 




VAN RENSSELAER S AUJIS. 






122 



THE HUDSON. 



gallery, and the huge stove used in heating the building was placed upon 
a platform so high, that the sexton went upon it from the gallery to 
kindle the fire, implying a belief in those days that heated air descended, 
instead of ascending, as we are now taught by the philosophers. The 
pulpit was made of carved oak, octagonal in form, and in front of it was a 
bracket, on which the minister placed his hour-glass, when he commenced 
preaching. From the pulpit shone in succession those lights of the 
Reformed Dutch Church in America, Dominies Schaats, Delius, the land 
speculator, Lydius, Yandriesscn, Yan Sehie, Frelinghuysen, "Westerlo, 




OLD DITCH CUUECU IX ALBANY. 



and Johnson. And from it the Gospel is still preached in Albany. "With 
its bracket, it occupies a place in the North Dutch Church, in that city. 

The bell-rope of the old church hung down in the centre of the building, 
and upon that cord tradition has suspended many a tale of trouble for 
Mynheer Brower, one of its sextons, who lived in IS'orth Pearl Street. 
He went to the church every night at eight o'clock, pursuant to orders, 
to ring the *' suppawn bell." This^was the signal for the inhabitants to 
eat their " suppawn," or hasty-pudding, and prepare for bed. It was 



THE HUDSON. 



123 



equivalent in its office to the old Englitjii curfuw bell. On these occasions 
the wicked boys would sometimes tease the old bell-ringer. They would 
slip stealthily into the church while lie was there with his dim lantern, 
unlock the side door, hide in some dark corner, and when the old man 
was fairly seated at home, and had his pipe lighted for a last smoke, they 
would ring the bell furiously. Down to the old church the sexton would 
hasten, the boys woiild slip out at the side door before his arrival, and the 
old man would return home thoughtfully, musing upon the probability 
of invisible hands pulling at his bell-rope — those 

" People — all, the people, 
They that dwell up in the steeple 

All alone ; 
And who, tolling, toUing, tolling, 

In that muffled monotone, 
Feel a glory in so rolling 

On the human heart a stone ; 

They are neither man nor woman, 

They are neither hrute nor human. 

They are ghouls ! " 

Albany wore a quaint aspect until the beginning of the present century, 
on account of the predominance of steep-roofed houses, with their terraced 
gables to the street. A fair specimen is given in our Street View in 
Ancient Albany, which shows the appearance of the town at the intersec- 
tion of North Pearl and State Streets, sixty years ago. The house at the 
nearer corner was built as a parsonage for the Eev. Gideon Schaats, who 
arrived in Albany in 1652. The materials were imported from Holland, 
— bricks, tiles, iron, and wood- work, — and were brought, with the church 
bell and pulpit, in 1657. ""When I was quite a lad," says a late writer, 
" I visited the house with my mother, Avho was acquainted with the 
father of Balthazar Lydius, the last proprietor of the mansion. To my 
eyes it appeared like a palace, and I thought the pewter plates in a corner 
cupboard were solid silver, they glittered so. The partitions were made 
of mahogany, and the exposed beams were ornamented with carvings in 
high relief, representing the vine and fruit of the grape. To show the 
relief more perfectly, the beams were painted white. Balthazar was an 
eccentric old bachelor, and was the terror of all the boys. Strange 
stories, almost as dreadful as those which cluster tiround the name of 
Bluebeard, were told of his fierceness on some occasions ; and the urchins, 



124 



THE HUDSON. 



wlicn they saw him in the streets, would give him the whole side-walk, 
for he made them think of the ogre, gi-owling out his 



'Fee, fo, fum, 
I smell the blood of an Englishman.' 



He was a tall, spare Dutchman, with a bullet head, sprinkled with thin 
white hair in his latter years. He was fond of his pipe and his bottle, 
and gloried in his celibacy, until his life was * in the sere and yellow leaf.' 




ijTfiJiiiT ViKW IN A^■(JIK:NT ALBANV. 



Then he gave a pint of gin for a squaw (an Indian woman), and calling 
her his wife, lived with her as such until his death." 

On the opposite corner was seen an elm-tree, yet standing in 1860, but 
of statelier proportions, which was planted more than a hundred years 
before by Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence, whose dwelling was next to the corner. It was a monu- 
ment to the planter, more truly valued of the Albanians in the heats of 
summer, than would be the costliest pile of brass or marble. 

Further up the street is seen a large building, with two gables, which 
was known as the Vanderheyden Palace. It is a good specimen of the 



THE HUDSON. 



125 



external appearance of the better class of houses erected by the Dutch in 
Albany. It was built in 1725, by Johannes Beelcman, one of the old 
burglicrs of that city ; and was purchased, in 1778, by one of the Vander- 
heydens of Troy, who, for many years, lived there in the style of the old 
Dutch aristocracy. On account of its size, it was dignified with the title 
of palace. It figures in "Washington Irving' s story of Dolph Hcyliger, in 
*'Bracebridge Hall," as the residence of Heer Anthony Vandcrheyden ; 




VA.MJiiEHLYDE.\ PALACE. 



and when Mr. Irving transformed the old farmhouse of Van Tassel into 
his elegant Dutch cottage at " Sunny side," he made the southern gable 
an exact imitation of that of the palace in Albany. And the iron vane, 
in the form of a horse at full speed, that turned for a century upon one of 
the gables of the Vandcrheyden Palace, now occupies the peak of that 
southern gable at delightful " Sunnyside." 

Kalm, the Swedish traveller, who visited Albany in 1748 and 1749, 
says in his Journal, — " The houses in this town are very neat, and partly 
built with stones, covered with shingles of the white pine. Some are 
slated with tiles from Holland. Most of the houses are built in the old 



126 THE HUDSON. 



way, with the giiblc-ciid toward the street j a few excepted, wliicli were 

lately built in the manner now used The gutters on the roofs 

reach almost to the middle of the street. This preserves the walls from 
being damaged by the rain, but it is extremely disagreeable in rainy 
weather for the people in the streets, there being hardly any means for 
avoiding the water from the gutters. The street doors are generally in 
the middle of the houses, and on both sides are seats, on which, during 
fair weather, the people spend almost the whole day, especially on those 
which are in the shadow of the houses. In the evening these seats are 
covered with people of both sexes ; but this is rathe-r troublesome, as those 
who pass by are obliged to greet everybody, unless they will shock the 
politeness of the inhabitants of the town." 

Kalui appears to have had some unpleasant experiences in Albany, and 
in his Journal gave his opinion very freely concerning the inhabitants. 
" The avarice and selfishness of the inhabitants of Albany," he says, *' are 
very well knoAvn throughout all jS^orth America. If a Jew, who under- 
stands the art of getting forward perfectly well, should settle amongst 
them, they would not fail to ruin him ; for this reason, no one comes to 
this place without the most pressing necessity." He complains that he 
"was obliged to pay for everything twice, thrice, and four times as dear 
as in any other part of North America" which he had passed through. 
If he wanted any help, he had to pay "exorbitant prices for their 
services," and yet he says he found some exceptions among them. After 
due reflection, he came to the following conclusion respecting " the 
origin of the inhabitants of Albany and its neighbourhood. Whilst the 
Dutch possessed this country, and intended to people it, the government 
took up a pack of vagabonds, of which they intended to clear the country, 
and sent them, along Avith a number of other settlers, to this province. 
The vagabonds were sent far from the other colonists, upon the borders 
toward the Indiaus and other enemies ; and a few honest families were 
persuaded to go with them, in order to keep them in bounds. I cannot 
in any other way account for the difference between the inhabitants of 
Albany and the other descendants of so respectable a nation as the 
Dutch." 

Albany was settled by the Dutch, and is the oldest of the permanent 



THE HUDSON. 127 



European settlements in tlie United States. Hudson passed its site in the 
Half-Moon, in the early autumns of 1609 ; and the next year Dutch 
navigators built trading-houses there, to traffic for furs with the Indians. 
In 1614 they erected a stockade fort on an island near. It was swept 
away by a spring freshet in 1617. Another was built on the main : it 
was abandoned in 1623, and a stronger one erected in what is now 
Broadway, below State Street. This was furnished Avith eight cannon 
loaded with stones, and was named Fort Orange, in honour of the then 
Stadtholder of Holland. Down to the period of the intercolonial wars, 
the settlement and the city were kuown as Fort Orange by the French in 
Canada. Families settled there in 1630, and for awhile the place was 
called Beverwyclc. When James, Duke of York and Albany (brother to 




"r#"V 




FOET FREDERICK. 



Charles II.), came into' pcssession of Xew jS'etherland, Kew Amsterdam 
was named New York, and Orange, or Beverwyck, was called Albany. 

In 1647 a fort, named Williamstadt, was erected upon the hill at the 
head of State Street, very near the site of the State Capitol, and the city 
was enclosed by a line of defences in septangular form. In 1683 the 
little trading post, having grown first to a hamlet and then to a large 
village, was incorporated a city, and Peter Schuyler, already mentioned 
(son of the first of that name who came to America), was chosen its first 
mayor. Out of the manor of Rensselaerwyck a strip of land, a mile wide, 
extending from the Hudson at the town, thirteen miles back, was granted 
to the city, but the title to all the remainder of the soil of that broad 
domain was confirmed to the Patroon. "When, toward the middle of the 
last century, the province was menaced by the French and Indians, a 
strong quadrangular fort, built of stone, was erected upon the site of that 



128 THE HUDSON. 



of "Williamstadt. Within the heavy walls, Avhich had strong bastions at 
the four corners, -was a stone building for the officers and soldiers. It 
was named Fort Frederick ; but its situation was so insecure, owing to 
higher hills in the rear, from which an enemy might attack it, it was not 
regarded as of much value by Abercrombie and others during the 
campaigns of the Seven Years' War. From that period until the present, 
Albany has been growing more and more cosmopolitan in its population, 
until now very little of the old Dutch element is distinctly perceived. 
The style of its architecture is changed, and very few of the buildings 
erected in the last century and before, arc remaining. 

Among the most interesting of these relics of the past is the mansion 
erected by General Philip Schuyler, at about the time when the Tan 
llensselacr Manor House was built. It stands in the southern part of the 
city, at the head of Schuyler Street, and is a very fine specimen of the 
domestic architecture of the country at that period. It is entered at the 
front by an octagonal vestibule, richly ornamented within. The rooms 
arc spacious, with high ceilings, and wainscoted. The chimney-pieces in 
some of the rooms are finely wrought, and ornamented with carvings from 
mantel to ceiling. The outhouses were spacious, and the grounds around 
the mansion, so late as 1860, occupied an entire square within the city. 
Its site was well chosen, for even now, surrounded as it is by the city, it 
commands a most remarkable prospect of the Hudson and the adjacent 
country. Below it are the slopes and plain towai'd the river, which once 
composed the magnificent lawn in front of the general's mansion ; further 
on is a dense portion of the city; but looking over all the mass of buildings 
and shipping, the eyes take in much of the fine county of Hensselaer, on 
the opposite side of the river, and a view of the Hudson and its valley 
many miles soutliward. 

In that mansion General Schuyler and his family dispensed a princely 
hospitality for almost forty years. Every stranger of distinction passing 
between New York and Canada, public functionaries of the province and 
state visiting Albany, and resident friends and relatives, always found a 
hearty welcome to bed and board under its roof. And when the British 
army had surrendered to the victorious republicans at Saratoga, in the 
autumn of 1777, Sir John Burgoyne, the accomplished commander of the 



THE HUDSON. 



129 



royal troops, and many of his fellow-captives, were treated as friendly 
guests at the general's table. To this circumstance we have already 
alluded. 

"We were received by the good General Schuyler, his wife and 
daughters," says the Baroness Reidesel, "not as enemies, but as kind 
friends ; and they treated us with the most marked attention and 
politeness, as they did General Burgoyne, who had caused General 




GEXEEAL SCHUYLER'S JLVXSIOX IN ALBANV. 



Schuyler's beautifully-finished house to be burned. In fact, they behaved 
like persons of exalted minds, who determined to bury all recollections of 
their own injuries in the contemplation of our misfortunes. General 
Burgoyne was struck with General Schuyler's generosity, and said to him, 
'You show me great kindness, though I have done you much injury.' 
'That was the fate of war,' replied the brave man, * let us say no more 
about it.'" 

"The British commander was well received by Mrs. Schuyler," says 
the Marquis De Chastellux, in his " Travels in America," " and lodged 
in the best apartment in the house. An excellent supper was served him 

s 



130 THE HUDSON. 



in the evening, tlie honours of which were done with so much grace that 
he was affected even to tears, and said, with a deep sigh, ' Indeed, this is 
doing too much for the man who has ravaged their lands and hurned their 
dwellings ! ' The next morning he was reminded of his misfortunes by 
an incident that would have amused any one else. His bed was prepared 
in a large room, but as he had a numerous suite, or family, several 
mattresses were spread on the floor, for some officers to sleep near_ him. 
Schuyler's second son, a little fellow, about seven years old, very arch and 
forward, but very amiable, was running all the morning about the house. 
Opening the door of the saloon, he burst out a laughing on seeing all the 
English collected, and shut it after him, exclaiming, * You are all my 
prisoners ! ' This innocent cruelty rendered them more melancholy than 
before." 

Schuyler's mansion was the theatre of a stirring event, in the summer 
of 1781. The general Avas then engaged in the civil service of his country, 
and was at home. The war was at its height, and the person of Schuyler 
was regarded as a capital prize by his Tory enemies. A plan was 
conceived to seize him, and carry him a prisoner into Canada. A Tory 
of his neighbourhood, named AValtemeyer, a colleague of the more 
notorious Joe Bettys, was employed for the purpose. "With a party of his 
associates, some Canadians and Indians, he prowled in the woods, near 
Albany, for several days, awaiting a favourable opportunity. From a 
Dutch labourer, whom he seized, he learned that the general was at home, 
and kept a body-guard of six men in the house, three of them, iu 
succession, being continually on duty. The Dutchman was compelled to 
take an oath of secrecy, but appears to have made a mental reservation, 
for, as soon as possible, he hastened to Schuyler's house, and warned him 
of his peril. 

At the close of a sultry day in August, the general and his family were 
sitting in the large hall of the mansion; the servants were dispersed 
about the premises ; three of the guard were asleep in the basement, and 
the other three were lying upon the grass in front of the house. The 
night had fallen, when a servant announced that a stranger at the back 
gate wished to speak with the general. His errand was immediately 
apprehended. The doors and windows were closed and barred, the family 



THE HUDSON, 



131 



wci-e hastily collected in an iipper room, and the general ran to his bed- 
chamber for his arms. From the window he saw the house surrounded 
by armed men. For the purpose of arousing the sentinels upon the grass, 
and, perhaps, alarm the town, then half a mile distant, he fired a pistol 
from the window. At that moment the assailants burst open the doors, 
and, at the same time, Mrs. Schuyler perceived that, in the confusion and 
alarm, in their retreat from the hall, her infant child, a few months old. 




Si'AIRCASli IN SCIIUVLKE'S MANSION. 



had been left in a cradle in the nursery below. She was flying to the 
rescue of her child, when the general interposed, and prevented her. But 
her third daughter (who afterwards became the wife of the last Patroon 
of Rensselaerwyck) instantly rushed down stairs, snatched the still 
sleeping infant from the cradle, and bore it off in safety. One of the 
Indians hurled a sharp tomahawk at her as she ascended the stairs. It 
cut her dress within a few inches of the infant's head, and struck the 



132 THE HUDSON. 



stair rail at the lower turn, where the scar may bo still seen. At that 
moment, Waltemeyer, supposing her to be a servant, exclaimed, "Wench, 
wench, where is your master ? " "With great presence of mind, she 
replied, "Gone to alarm the town." The general heard her, and, 
throwing up the windoAV, called out, as if to a multitude, " Come on, my 
brave fellows ! surround the house, and secure the villains ! " The 
marauders were then in the dining-room, plundering the general's plate. 
"With this, and the three guards that were in the house, and were 
disarmed, they made a precipitate retreat in the direction of Canada. 

The infant daughter, who so narrowly escaped death, wa^ the late 
Mrs. Catherine Yan Eensselaer Cochran, of Oswego, New York, who was 
General Schuyler's youngest and last surviving child. She died toward 
the close of August, 1857, at the age of seventy-six years. 

Albany was made the political metropolis of the State of New York 
early in the present century, when the Capitol, or State-House, was 
erected. It stands upon a hill at the heat of broad, steep, busy State 
Street, one hundred and thirty feet above tlie Hudson, and commands a 
fine prospect of the whole surrounding country, especially the rich 
agricultural district on the east side of the river. In front of the Capitol 
is a small well-shaded park, or enclosed public square, on the eastern side 
of which are costly white marble buildings devoted to the official business 
of the State and city. The Capitol is an unpretending structure, of brown 
free-stone from the ISTyack quarries, below the Highlands. It is two 
stories in height, and ornamented with a portico, whose roof is supported 
by four grey marble columns of the Ionic order, tetrastyle. The building 
is surmounted by a dome supported by several small Ionic columns, and 
bearing upon its crown a wooden statue of Themis, the goddess of justice 
and law. "Within it are halls for the two branches of the State legislature 
(Senate and General Assembly), an executive chamber for the official use 
of the Governor, an apartment for the Adjutant- General, and rooms for 
the use of the higher state courts. 

Immediately in the rear of the Capitol is the building containing the 
State library, which includes nearly forty thousand volumes, and some 
valuable manuscripts. It is a free, but not a circulating, library. 

Albany contained only about six thousand inhabitants when it was 



THE HUDSON. 



133 



made the State capital, and its progress in business and population was 
very slow until the successful establishment of steam-boat navigation on 
the Hudson, and the completion of that stupendous work of internal 
improvement, the Erie Canal, by which the greatest of the inland seas of 
the United States (Lake Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior) were 
connected by navigable waters with the Atlautic Ocean, through the 




X*' 4t „ 









^--^ 




THE Sl'ATt: CAPHOL. 



Hudson lliver. The idea of such connection had occupied the minds of 
sagacious men for many years, foremost among whom were Elkanah 
"Watson, General Philip Schuyler, Christopher Colles, and Gouverneur 
Morris; and thirty years before the great work was commenced, Joel 
Barlow, one of the early American poets, wrote in his Vision of 
Columbus — 

" He saw as widely spreads the unchannelled plain. 
Where inland realms for ages bloomed in vain, 
Canals, long winding, ope a watery tlight. 
And distant streams, and seas, and lakes unite. 

"From fair Albania tow'rd the fading sun. 
Back through the midland lengthening channels run : 
Meet the far lakes, their beauteous towns that lave, 
And Hudson joined to broad Ohio's wave." 



134 



THE HUDSON. 



The Erie Canal enters the Hudson at Albany. Its western terminus is 
the city of Buffalo, at the east end of Lake Erie. The length of the canal 
is 360 miles, and its original width was forty feet, Avith depth sufficient 
to bear boats of eighty tons burden. 'It was completed in the year 1825, 
at a cost to the State of nearly eight millions of dollars. The business 
demands upon it warranting an enlargement to seventy feet in width, 
work with that result in view has been in progress for several years. It 
flows through the entire length of the beautiful Mohawk valley, crosses 




CANAL BASIK AT ALBAXy. 



the Mohawk lUver several times, and enters Albany at the north end of 
the city. 

Near where the last aqueduct of the canal crosses the Mohawk Eiver, 
the rapids above Cohoes Falls commence. The Indians had a touching 
legend connected with these rapids, that exhibits, in brief sentences, a 
vivid picture of the workings of the savage mind. 

Oecuna, a young Seneca warrior, and his affianced were carelessly 
paddling along the river in a canoe, at the head of the rapids, when they 
suddenly perceived themselves drawn irresistibly by tlie current to the 



THE HUDSON. 135 



middle of, and down, the stream towards the cataract. "When they found 
deliverance to he impossible, the lovers prepared to meet the great Master 
of Life with composure, and began the melancholy death-song, in 
responsive sentences. Occuna began: " Daughter of a mighty warrior ! 
the Great Manitore [the Supreme God] calls me hence ; he bids me hasten 
into his presence ; I hear his voice in the sti'eam ; I perceive his Spirit 
in the moving of the waters. The light of his eyes danceth upon the swift 
rapids." 

The maiden replied : "Art thou not thyself a mighty warrior, 
Occuna ? Hath not thy hatchet been often bathed in the red blood of 
thine enemies ? Hath the fleet deer ever escaped thy arrow, or the 
beaver eluded thy pursuit ? AVhy, then, shouldst thou fear to go into the 
presence of Manitore ? " 

Occuna responded : " Manitore regardeth the brave — he respecteth the 
prayer of the mighty ! "When I selected thee from the daughters of thy 
mother, I promised to live and die with thee. The Tlnxnderer hath called 
us together. 

" Welcome, shade of On'sica, great chief of the invincible Senecas ! 
Lo, a warrior and the daughter of a warrior come to join you in the feast 
of the blessed ! " 

Occuna was dashed in pieces among the rocks, but his affianced maiden 
was preserved to tell the story of her perils. Occuna, the Indian said, 
"was raised high above the regions of the moon, from whence he views 
with joy the prosperous hunting of the warriors ; he gives pleasant 
dreams to his friends, and terrifies their enemies with dreadful omens." 
And when any of his tribe passed this fatal cataract, they halted, and 
with brief solemn ceremonies commemorated the death of Occuna. 

A capacious basin, comprising an area of thirty-two acres, was formed 
for the reception of the vessels and commerce of the canal, and in safe 
harbour for its boats and the river craft, in winter, by the erection of a 
pier, a mile in length, upon a shoal in front of the city. It Avas constructed 
by a stock company. The basin was originally closed at the upper and 
lower ends by lock-gates. These were soon removed to allow the tide 
and currents of the river to flow freely through the basin, for the 
dispersion of obstructions. "When the "Western Railway from Boston to 



136 THE HUDSON. 



Albany was completed, a passage was made through this pier for ferry- 
boats, the bridges not being sufficient for the accommodation of travellers 
and freight. The pier was also soon covered with storehouses ; and when 
the Harlem and Hudson Eiver E-ailways (the former skirting the western 
borders of Connecticut, eighteen or twenty miles east of the Hudson, and the 
latter following the river shore) were finished, and their termini were 
fixed at the point of that of the "Western Eailway, the opening in the pier 
was widened, and ferry-boats made a passage through continually. 

These roads, with the great Central Eailway extending west from 
Albany, and others penetrating the country northward, together with the 
Champlain Canal, have made that city the focus of an immense trade and 
travel. The amount of property that reaches Albany by canal alone, is 
between two and three millions of tons annually ; of which almost a 
million of tons, chiefly in the various forms of timber, are the products of 
the forests. The timber trade of Albany is very extensive, amounting in 
value to between six or seven millions of dollars annually. Manufacturing 
is carried on there extensively ; and the little town of six thousand 
inhabitants, when it was faiade the State capital, about sixty years before, 
comprised in 1860 almost seventy thousand souls. 

It is not within the scope of our plan of illustrating the Hudson to do 
more than ofi'cr a general outline of its various features, as exhibited 
in the forms of nature and the works of man. We leave to the 
statistician the task of giving in detail an account of the progress of towns 
and villages, in their industrial operations and the institutions of learning. 
We picture to the eye and mind only such prominent features as would 
naturally engage the observation of the tourist seeking recreation and 
incidental knowledge. "With this remark we leave the consideration of 
Albany, after saying a few words concerning the Dudley Observatory, an 
establishment devoted to astronomical science, and ranking in its 
appropriate appointments with the best of its class of aids to human 
knowledge. 

The Dudley Observatory was projected about eight years ago, and is 
nearly completed. It is the result of a conference of several scientific 
gentlemen, who resolved to establish at the State capital an astronomical 
observatory, that, for completeness, should be second to none in the world. 



THE HUDSON. 



137 



General Yan Rensselaer, the present propi'ietor of the Manor House, at 
Albany, presented for the purpose eight acres of land upon an eminence 
north of the city. This preliminary step was followed by Mrs. Blandina 
Dudley, widow of a wealthy Albany merchant, who offered twelve 
thousand dollars towards the cost of erecting a building. Those having 
the matter in charge resolved to call it the Dudley Observatory, in honour 
of the generous lady. She subsequently increased her gift for apparatus 
and endo■\^■ments to seventy-six thousand dollars. The chief spring of her 




THE DUDLEY OBSEEVATOHY. 



generosity was a reverential respect for her husband. With wisdom she 
chose this instrument of scientific investigation to be his enduring 
monument. Others made liberal donations, trustees were appointed, a 
scientific council, to take charge of the establishment, was formed, and 
the building was commenced in the spring of 1853. A great heliometer, 
named in honour of Mrs. Dudley, was constructed ; and Thomas W. Olcott, 
of Albany, who took great interest in the enterprise from the beginning, 
contributed sufiicient money to purchase the splendid meridian circle by 
Pistor and Martin, of Berlin, the finest instrument of the kind in the world. 

T 



138 THE HUDSON. 



It is called the Olcott Meridian Circle. The whole establishment was to 
have been placed under the superintendence of the eminent Professor 
Ormsby M. Mitchel, of Ohio. The Civil War broke out, and Mr. Mitchel, 
animated by patriotic zeal for the salvation of his country, entered the 
military service, for which he had been educated at "West Point, and was 
made a general officer. While in command of the "Department of the 
South" at Beaufort, Sou.th Carolina, he died from the effects of yellow 
fever. 

The Dudley Observatory is upon the highest summit of the grounds, 
and commands an extensive view of the Hudson and the adjacent country. 
It is cruciform, with a front of about eighty feet, and a depth of seventy- 
five feet. Its massive walls are of brick, faced with brown freestone. 
All the arrangements within, for the use of instruments, are very perfect. 
In a large niche opposite the entrance door is a marble bust of Mr. Dudley, 
by Palmer, the eminent sculptor, on the pedestal of which is the following 
inscription : — 

CHAKLES y.. DUDLEY, 

BY BLANDINA, HIS WIFE. 

DEDICATED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF 

ASTEONOMT. 

In the Clock-room of the Observatory is the apparatus by which a "time- 
ball" on the top of the State Capitol, a mile distant, is dropped at 
precisely twelve o'clock each day, and bells are also rung at the same 
instant in the senate and assembly chambers. The ball is seen in our 
sketch of the Capitol. It is four and a half feet in diameter, is mounted 
on the flag-staff, and is raised each day at ten minutes before twelve. 
The force of the fall is broken by spiral springs at the foot of the flag- staff. 
Another but smaller time-ball is dropped at the same instant in 
Broadway, in front of the telegraph-office, and hundreds of persons may 
be seen daily holding their watches at the approach of the meridian 
moment, to regulate them by this unerring indicator. 

Immediately opposite Albany is the commencement of fine alluvial 
*' flats," almost on a level with the Hudson, and subject to overflow when 
floods or high tides prevail. At the head of these " flats " lies the village 
of Grecnbush [ITet Greene Bosch, "the pine woods," in the Dutch 



I 



THE HUDSON. 



139 



language), which was laid out at the beginning of this century. It has 
since crept up the slope, and now presents a beautiful rural village of 
almost four thousand inhabitants. Many business men of Albany have 
pleasant country residences there. About a mile from the ferry is the 
site of extensive barracks erected by the United States government as a 
place of rendezvous for troops at the opening of the war between Great 
Britain and the TJnited States in 1812. Provision was made for six 




GREKNBUSH RAILWAY-STATION. 



tliousand soldiers ; and their General Dearborn, the commander-in-chief 
of the United States army, had his quarters for some time. On this very 
spot Abercrombie and Amherst collected their troops above a hundred 
years ago, preparatory to an invasion of Canada, or, at least, the capture 
of the French fortresses on Lake Champlain ; and from that same spot 
went companies and regiments to the northern frontiers in 1812 — 14, to 
invade Canada, or to oppose an invasion from that province, as circumstances 
might require. No traces now remain of warlike preparation. The 



* Albany is seen on the opposite side of the river. 



140 THE HUDSON. 



peaceful pursuits of agriculture have taken the place of the turmoil of the 
camp, and instead of the music of the shrill fife and the sonorous drum 
that came up from the river's brink, when battalions marched away for 
the field, the scream of the steam-whistle, the jingle of bells, and the 
hoarse breathings of the locomotive are heard — for at Greenbush are 
concentrated the termini of four railways, that are almost hourly pouring 
living freight and tons of merchandise upon the vessels of the Albany 
ferries. Buildings of every description for the use of these railways are 
there in a cluster, the most conspicuous of which is the immense many- 
sided engine-house of the Western Road, whose great dome, covered with 
bright tin, is a conspicuous object on a sunny day for scores of miles 
around. 

The Hudson Eiver Railway is on the east side of the stream, and follows 
its tortuous banks all the way from Albany to New York, sometimes 
leading through tunnels or deep rocky gorges at proiuontories, and at 
others making tangents across bays and the months of tributary streams 
by means of bridges, trestlework, and causeways. Its length is 143 miles. 
More than a dozen trains each way pass over portions of the road in the 
course of twenty-four hours, aftording the tourist an opportunity to visit 
in a short space of time every village on both sides of the river, there 
being good ferries at each. The shores are hilly and generally well- 
cultivated ; and the diversity of the landscape, whether seen from the cars 
or a steamer, present to t'.'e eye, in rapid succession, ever-vaiying pictures 
of life and beauty, comfort and thrift. 



CHAPTER VIII. 




^ ^C^.BE first village below Albany is the pretty one of 
f^' , \C Castlcton, on tbe Hudson River Railway, about 
eight miles below Greenbush. Around it is a 
pleasant agricultural country, and between it and 
Albany, on the western shore, flows in the romantic 
]S'orman's-Kill (the Indian Tawasentha, or Place of 
many Dead), that comes down from the region of 
the lofty Helderbergs. Upon the island in the 
Hudson, at the mouth of this stream — a noted place 
of encampment and trade for the Iroquois — the Dutch built their first 
fort on the Hudson in 1614, and placed it in command of Captain 
Christians, The island was named Kasteel, or Castle, and from it the 
little village just mentioned received its name. The alluvial " flats " in 
this neighbourhood are wide, and low islands, partly wooded and partly 
cultivated, divide the river in channels. They stretch parallel with the 
sliores, a considerable distance, and the immense passenger steamers 
sometimes find it difficult to traverse the sinuous main channel. These, 
and the tall-masted sloops, have the appearance, from the Castleton 
shore, of passing through vast meadows, the water that bears them not 
being visible. 

In this vicinity is the famous hidden sand-bar, called Overslagh by the 
Dutch, so formidable to the navigators of this part of the river, not 
because of any actual danger, but of tedious detentions caused by running 
aground. Some improvements have been made. In former years the 
sight of from twenty to fifty sail of river craft, fast aground on the 
Overslagh at low tide, was not rare, and the amount of profanity uttered 
by the vexed sailors was sufficient to demoralise the whole district. This 
bar is formed by the sand brought in by the Norman's Kill and other 
streams, and large sums have been expended in damming, dredging, and 



142 



THE HUDSON. 



dyking, without entire success. As early as 1790, the State legislature 
authorised the proprietors of Mills and Papskni Islands to erect a dam or 
dyke between them, so as to throw all the water into the main channel, 
and thus increase its velocity sufficient to carry away the accumulating 
sand. It abated, but did not cure the difficulty. This bar is a perpetual 
contradiction to the frequent boast, that the navigation of the Hudson is 
unobstructed along its entire tide-Avatercourse. The Overslagh is the 
only exception, however. 

About four miles below Castleton, is the village of Schodack, a deriva- 




VIEAV NEAP. THE OVERSLAGH. 



five from the Mohegan word is-clio-da, "a meadow, or fire-plain." This 
was anciently the seat of the council fire of the Mohegans upon the 
Hudson. They extended their villages along the eastern bank of the 
stream, as higli as Lansiugburgh, and their hunting grounds occupied the 
entire counties of Columbia and Eensselaer. As the white settlements 
crowded there, the Mohegans retired eastwardly to the valley of the 
Housatonnuc, in Massachusetts, where their descendants, known as the 
Stockbridge Indians, were for a long time religiously instructed by the 



THE HUDSON. 143 



eminent Jonathan Edwards. They embraced Christianity, abandoned 
the chase as a means of procuring subsistence, and adopted the arts of 
civilised life. A small remnant of these once powerful Mohegans is now 
living, as thriving agriculturists, on the shores of Winnebago Lake, in 
the far north-west. 

About seven miles below Schodack is Stuyvesant Landing, the "port" 
of Kinderhook {Kinder s Soech), the Dutch name for " children's point, or 
corner." It is derived, as tradition asserts, from the fact that a Swede, 
the jfirst settler at the point at Upper Kinderhook Landing, had a 
numerous progeny. The village, which was settled by Dutch and 
Swedes at an early period, is upon a plain five miles from the river, with 
most attractive rui'al surroundings. There, for more than twenty years 
after his retirement from public life, the late Honourable Martin Yan 
Buren, a descendant of one of the early settlers, and the eighth president 
of the United States, resided. His pleasant seat, embowered in lindens, 
is called " Lindenwold," and there, in delightful quietude, the retired 
chief magistrate of the republic spent the evening of his days. 

The country road from Kinderhook to the Coxsakie station passes 
through a rich and well- cultivated region, -and leads the tourist to points 
fi'om which the first extensive views of the magnificent range of the 
Katzbergs may be obtained. 

Coxsakie village is upon the west side of the river, partly along the 
shore for a mile, in three clusters. The more ancient portion, called 
Coxsakie Street, is upon a beautiful plain a mile from the river. The 
latter was originally built upon the post road, as most of the old villages 
along the Hudson were, the river trafiic being at that time inconsiderable. 
The name is the Iroquois word JCuxahee, or the Cut Banks, Anglicised. 
Its appropriateness may be understood by the form of the shore, whose 
banks have evidently been cut down by the rushing river currents that 
sweep swiftly along between an island and the main, when the spring 
freshets occur. From a high rocky blufi" at the ferry, on the east side of 
the river, a fine view of Coxsakie, with the blue Katzbergs as a back- 
ground, may be obtained. Turning southward, the eye takes in a broad 
expanse of the river and country, with the city of Hudson in the distance, 
and northward are seen the little villages of Coeymans and New Baltimore, 



144 



THE HUDSON. 



on the western shore. The site of the former bore the Indian name of 
Sanago. It was settled by the Dutch, and received its present name 
from one of its earlier inhabitants. 

It was in blossoming May, in 1860, when the shad fishers were in 
tlieir glory, di'awing full nets of treasure from the river in quick 
succession, when the "tide served," that I visited this portion of the 
Hudson. On both sides of the river they were pursuing their vocation 
with assiduity, for "the season" lasts only about two months. The 




immense reels on which they stretch and dry their nets, the rough, 
uncouth costume of the fishermen, appropriate to the water and the slime, 
the groups of young people who gather upon the beach to see the 
" catch," form interesting and sometimes picturesque foregrounds to 
every view on these shores. The shad* is the most important fish of the 
Hudson, being very delicious as food, and caught in such immense 



* Alosa prxstabilis. Head aud back dark bluish ; sides of the body greenish, with blue and j'ellowish 
changeable metallic reflections ; belly nearly white ; length from one to two feet. It resides in the 
northern seas, but comes to us from the south to deposit its spawn. It appears at Charleston in January 
or February; early in March at Norfolk aud Baltimore, and at New York at the Uitfor end of Marcli. 



THE HUDSON. 



145 



numbers, as to make them cheap dishes for the poor man's table. They 
enter the Hudson in immense numbers towards the close of March or 
beginning of April, and ascend to the head of tide water to spawn. It is 
while on their passage up that the greater number and best conditioned 
are caught, several hundreds being sometimes taken in a single "catch." 
They generally descend the river at the close of May, when they are 




rISHIXtr STATIOX.— STURGEON, SHAD, BASS.* 

called Buck Shad, and are so lean and almost worthless, that " thin as a 
June Shad" is a common epithet applied to lean persons. 

The Sturgeon f is also caught from the Hudson in large numbers at 
most of the fishing stations. The most important of these are in the 
vicinity of Hyde Park, a few miles above, and Low Point, a few miles 
below, the city of Poughkeepsie. These fish are sold in such quantities 
in Albany, that they have been called, in derision, "Albany beef," and 



* The largest fi^h in the picture is the sturgeon, the smallest the striped bass, and tlie other a shad. 
The relative sizes and proportions ai-e correct. 

t The short-nosed Sturgeon [Acipenser hrevinostris) is a large agile flsh without scales, the smoolh 
skin covered with small spinous asperites scattered equally over it. Its colour is dusky above, with faint 
traces of oblique bunds ; belly white, and the fins tinged with reddish colour. 



146 THE HUDSON. 



the inhabitants of that ancient town, " Sturgeonites." They vary in size 
from two to eight feet in length, and in weight from 100 to 450 lbs. 
The "catch" commences in April, and continues until the latter end of 
August. The flesh is used for food by some, and the oil that is extracted 
is considered equal to the best sperm as an illuminator. The voyagers 
upon the Hudson may frequently see them leap several feet out of water 
when chasing their prey of smaller fish to the surface, and they have been 
known to seriously injure small boats, either by striking their bottoms 
with their snout in rising, or falling into them. Bass and herring are 
also caught in abundance in almost every part of the river, and numerous 
smaller fishes reward the angler's patience by their beauty of form, if he 
be painter or poet, and their delicious flavour, if the table gives him 
pleasure. 

About thirty miles below Albany, lying upon a bold, rocky promontory 
that juts out from the eastern shore at an elevation of fifty feet, with a 
beautiful bay on each side, is the city of Hudson, the capital of Columbia 
County, a port of entry, and one of the most delightfully situated towns 
on the river. It was founded in 1784 by tliirty proprietors, chiefly 
Quakers from New England. Never in the history of the rapid growth 
of cities in America has there been a more remarkable example than that 
of Hudson. Within three years from the time when the farm on which 
it stands was purchased, and only a solitary storehouse stood i;pon the 
bank of the river at the foot of the bluff, one hundred and fifty dwellings, 
with wharves, storehouses, workshops, barns, &c., were erected, and a 
population of over fifteen hundred souls had settled there, and become 
possessed of a city charter. 

The principal street of the city of Hudson extends from the slopes of a 
lofty eminence called Prospect Hill, nearly a mile, to the brow of the 
promontory fronting the river, where a pleasant public promenade was 
laid out more than fifty years ago. It is adorned with trees and 
shrubbery, and gravelled walks, and affords charming views up and down 
the river of the beautiful country westward, and the entire range of the 
Katzbergs, lying ten or twelve miles distant. In the north-west, the 
Helderberg range looms up beyond an agricultural district dotted with 
villages and farmhouses. Southward the prospect is bounded by Mount 



THE HUDSON. 



147 



Merino high and near, over the bay, which is cultivated to its summit, 
and from whose crown the Highlands in the south, the Luzerne 
Mountains, near Lake George, in the north, the Katzbergs in the west, 
and the Green Mountains eastward, may be seen, blue and shadowy, and 
bounding the horizon with a grand and mysterious line, while at the feet 
of the observer, the city of Hudson lies like a picture spread upon a table. 
Directly opposite the city is Athens, a thriving little village, lying upon 
the river slope, and having a connection with its more stately sister by 




VIEW rEOM THE PEOMENADE, HUDSON. 

means of a steam ferry-boat. It was first named Lunenberg, then 
Esperanza, and finally was incorporated under its present title. Behind 
it spreads out a beautiful country, inhabited by a population consisting 
chiefly of descendants of the Dutch. All through that region, from 
Coxsakie to Kingston, the Dutch language is still used in many families. 

The country around Hudson is hilly and very picturesque, every turn 
in the road affording pleasant changes in landscape and agreeable 
surprises. A little northward, Claverack {Ilet Klauver Bach, the Clover 
Reach) Creek comes down from the hills in falls and cascades, and 



148 



THE HUDSON. 



presents many romantic little scenes. Near its banks, a few miles from 
Hudson, are mineral springs, now rising into celebrity, and known as the 
Columbia Sulphur Springs. The accommodations for invalids and 
pleasure-seekers are arranged in the midst of a fine hickory grove, and 
many persons spend the summer months there very delightfully, away 
from the fashionable crowd. The tourist should not omit a visit to these 
springs, nor to Lebanon Springs farther in the interior. The latter may 




ATIIK.NS, FKUM XUIi HUDSON IRON WOEKS.* 

be reached by railway and stage-coaches from Hudson, with small expen- 
diture of time and money. 

The Lebanon Springs arc the resort of many people during the summer 
months, but the chief attraction there to the tourist is a village two miles 
distant, upon a mountain terrace, composed entirely of celibates of both 
sexes, and of all ages, called Shakers. They number about five hundred, 



* Tlie Hudson Iron Works are at the entrance of the South Bay, on a point of low land between the 
river and the railway. Tliey belong to a Stock Company. The chief business is the conversion of the 
crude iron ore into "pigs" ready for the manufacturer's use. Two kinds of ore are used — hematite from 
West Stockbridge, and magnetic from tlie Forest of Dean, Mines, in the Hudson Highlands. They pro- 
duce about 16,000 tons of " pig-u'on " annually. 



THE HUDSON. 



149 



and own and occupy ten thousand acres of land, all of which susceptible 
of tillage is in a state of highest cultivation. The sect or society of this 
singular people originated in England a little more than one hundred 
years ago. Ann Lee, the young wife of a blacksmith, who had borne 
several children, conceived the idea that marriage was impure and sinful. 
She found disciples, and after being persecuted as a fanatic for several 
years, she professed to have had a direct revelation that she was the female 
manifestation of the Christ upon earth, the male manifestation having been 
Jesus, the Deity being considered a duality — a being composed of both 





MLW VT IvVT^-MIL L\M>INt. 



S3xes. She was, and still is, called " Mother Ann," and is revered by her 
followers with a feeling akin to worship. With a few of them she came 
to America, planted " the church " a few miles from Albany, at a place 
called Niskayuna, and there died. There are now eighteen distinct 
communities of this singular people in the United States, the aggregate 
membership numbering little more than four thousand. The community 
at Xew Lebanon is the most perfect of all in its arrangements, and there 
the hierarchy of the "Millennial Church" reside. Their strange forms 



150 THE HUDSON. 



of ■worshi2D, consisting chiefly in singing and dancing ; their qiiaint 
costume, their simple manners, their industry and frugality, the perfection 
of all their industrial operations, their chaste and exemplary lives, and 
the unsurpassed beauty and picturesquencss of the country in which they 
are seated, render a visit to the Shakers of Lebanon a long-to-be- 
remembered event in one's life. 

About six miles below Hudson is the Oak-Hill Station, opposite the 
Katz-Kill (Cats-Kill) landing, at the mouth of the Katz-Kill, a clear and 
beautiful stream that flows down from the hill country of Schoharie 
County for almost forty miles. It was near here that the Half Moon 
anchored on the 20th September, 1609, .and was detained all the next day 
on account of the great number of natives who came on board, and had a 
merry time. Master Juet, one of Hudson's companions, says, in his 
journal, — " Our master and his mate determined to trie some of the 
chiefe men of the countrey, whether they had any treacherie in them. 
So they tooke them downe into the cabbin, and gave them so much wine 
and aqua vitce that they were all merrie, and one of them had his wife with 
him, which sate so modestly, as any of our countrey women would doe in 
a strange place. In the end, one of them was drunke, which had been 
aboord of our ship all the time that we had beene there : and that was 
sti'ange to them, for they could not tell how to take it. The canoes and 
folke went all on shoare, but some of them came againe, and brought 
stropes of beades [wampum, made of the clam-shell] ; some had sixe, 
seven, eight, nine, ten, and gave him. So he slept all night quietly.'' 
The savages did not venture on board until noon the next day, when they 
were glad to find their old companion that was so drunk quite well again. 
They then brought on board tobacco, and more beads, which they gave to 
Hudson, *' and made an Oration," and afterward sent for venison, which 
was brought on board. 

At the Oak Hill station the tourist upon the railway will leave it for a 
trip to the Katzbcrgs before him, ripon which may be seen, at the distance 
of eight miles in an air line, the "Mountain House," the famous resort 
for hundreds of people who escape from the dust of cities during the heat 
of summer. The river is crossed on a steam ferry-boat, and good 
omnibuses convey travellers from it to the pleasant village of Katz-Kill, 



THE HUDSON. 



151 



which, lies upon a slope on the left bank of the stream bearing the same 
name, less than half a mile from its mouth. At the village, conveyances 
are ready at all times to take the tourist to the Mountain House, twelve 
miles distant by the road, which passes through a picturesque and highly 
cultivated country, to the foot of the mountain. Before making this 




ENTRANCE TO THE KATZBEEGP. 



tour, however, the traveller should linger awhile on the banks of the 
Katz-Kill, from the Hudson a few miles into the country, for there may 
be seen, from different points of view, some of the most charming scenery 
in the world. Every turn in the road, every bend in the stream, presents 



152 THE HUDSON, 



new and attractive pictures, remarkable for beauty and diversity in 
outline, colour, and aerial perspective. The solemn Katzbergs, sublime 
in form, and mysterious in their dim, incomprehensible, and ever-changing 
aspect, almost always form a prominent feature in the landscape. In the 
midst of this scenery. Cole, the eminent painter, loved to linger when the 
shadows of the early morning were projected towards the mountain, then 
bathed in purple mists ; or at evening, when these lofty hills, then dark 
and awful, cast their deep shadows over more than half the country 
below, between their bases and the river. Charmed with this region. 
Cole made it at first a summer retreat, and finally his permanent residence, 
and there, in a fine old family mansion, delightfully situated to command 
a full view of the Ivatzberg range and the intervening country, his spirit 
passed from earth, while a sacred poem, created by his wealthy imagina- 
tion and deep religious sentiment, was finding expression upon his easel 
in a series of fine pictures, like those of " The Course of Empire," 
and " The Voyage of Life." He entitled the series, " The Cross and the 
World." Only one of the pictures was finished. One had found form in 
a " study " only, and two others were partly finished on the large canvas. 
Another, making the fifth (the number in the series), was about half 
completed, with some figures sketched in with white chalk. So they 
remain, just as the master left them, and so remains his studio. It is 
regarded by his devoted widow as a place too sacred for the common gaze. 
The stranger never enters it. 

The range of the Katzbergs •>^ rises abruptly from the plain on their 
eastern side, where the road that leads to the Mountain House enters 
them, and follows the margin of a deep, dark glen, through which flows 
a clear mountain stream seldom seen by the traveller, but heard 
continually for a mile and a half, as, in swift rapids or in little cascades, 
it hurries to the plain below. The road is sinuous, and in its ascent along 
the side of that glen, or more properly magnificent gorge, it is so enclosed 
by the towering hills on one side and the lofty trees that shoot up on the 

* The Indians called this range of hills On-ti-0-ra, signifying, Mountains of the Sky, for in some 
conditions of the atmosphere they are said to appear like a heavy cumulous cloud above the horizon. 
The Dutch called them Katzbergs, or Cat Mountains, because of the prevalence of panthers and wild-cats 
upon them. The word Cats-Kill i^ partly English aud partly Dutch : Katz-Kill, Dutch ; Cats-Creek, 
English. 



THE HUDSON. 



153 



other, that little can be seen beyond a few rods, except the sky above or 
glimpses of some distant summit, until the pleasant nook in the mountain 
is reached, wherein the Cabin of Kip Van Winkle is nestled. After that 
the course of the road is more nearly parallel with the rirer and the 




EIP VAN MINKI.K'S CAEIN. 



plain, and through frequent vistas glimpses may be caught of the country 
below, that charm the eye, excite the foncy and the imagination, and 
make the heart throb quicker and stronger with pleasurable emotions. 

Rip's cabin was a decent frame-house, as the Americans call dwellings 
made of wood, with two rooms, standing by the side of the road half-way 

X 



154 THE HUDSON. 



from the plain to the Mountain House, at the head of the gorge, along 
whose margin the^ traveller has ascended. It was so called because it 
stood within the " amphitheatre " reputed to be the place where the ghostly 
nine-pin players of Irving' s charming story of Rip "Van Winkle held their 
revel, and where thirsty Rip lay down to his long repose by "that wicked 
flagon," watched by his faithful dog Wolf, and undisturbed by the tongue 
of Dame VanjWinkle. As one stands upon the rustic bridge, in front of 
the cabin, and looks down the dark glen, up to the impending cliffs, or 
around in that rugged amphitheatre, the scene comes up vividly in memory, 
and the "company of odd-looking personages playing at nine-pins" 
reappear. "Some wore short doublets, others jerkins, with long knives 
in their belts, and most of them had enormous breeches, of similar style 
with that of the guides. Their visages, too, were peculiar : one had a 
large head, broad face, and small piggish eyes ; the face of another seemed 
to consist entirely of a nose, and was surmounted by a white sugar-loaf hat, 
set off with a little red cock's tail. They all had beards, of various shapes 
and colours. There was one who seemed to be the commander. He was 
a stout old gentleman, with a weather-beaten countenance ; he wore a 
laced doublet, broad belt and hanger, and high- crowned hat and feather, 
red stockings, and high-heeled shoes with roses in them. "What seemed 
particularly odd to Rip was, that though these folks were evidently 
amusing themselves, yet they maintained the gravest faces, the most 
mysterious silence, and were withal the most melancholy party of pleasure 
he had ever witnessed. Nothing interrupted the stillness of the scene but 
the noise of the balls, which, whenever they were rolled, echoed along the 
mountains like rumbling peals of thunder." 

Such was the company to whom hen-pecked Rip Van Winkle, wandering 
upon the mountains on a squirrel hunt, was introduced by a mysterious 
stranger carrying a keg of liquor, at autumnal twilight. And there it was 
that thirsty Rip drank copiously, went to sleep, and only awoke when 
twenty years had rolled away. His dog was gone, and his rusty gun- 
barrel, bereft of its stock, lay by his side. He doubted his identity. He 
sought the village tavern and its old frequenters ; his own house, and his 
faithful Wolf. Alas ! everything was changed, except the river and the 
mountains. Only one thing gave him real joy — Dame "Van Winkle's 



THE HUDSON. 155 



terrible tongue had been silenced for ever by death ! He was a mystery 
to all, and more a mystery to himself than to others. Whom had he met 
in the mountains? those queer fellows that reminded him of " the figures 
in an old Flemish painting, in the parlour of Dominic Van Schaick, the 
village parson. Sage Peter Vonderdonck was called to explain the 
mystery ; and Peter successfully responded. He asserted that it was a 
fact, handed down from his ancestor, the historian, that the Kaats-Kill 
Mountains had always been haunted by strange beings. That it was 
afiirmed that the great Hendrick Hudson, the first discoverer of the river 
and country, kept a kind of vigil there every twenty years, with his crew 
of the Half- Moon, being permitted in this way to revisit the scenes of his 
enterprise, and kept a guardian eye upon the river and the great city called 
by his name. That his father had once seen them, in their old Dutch 
dresses, playing at nine-pins in a hollow of the mountain ; and that himself 
had heard, one summer afternoon, the sound of their balls, like distant 
peals of thunder." Rip's veracity was vindicated; his daughter gave him 
a comfortable home ; and the gi'ave historian of the event assures us that 
the Dutch inhabitants, "even to this day, never hear a thunder-storm 
of a summer afternoon about the Kaats-Kill, but they say, Hendrick 
Hudson and his crew are at their game of nine-pins." 

The Van "Winkle of our day, who lived in the cottage by the mountain 
road-side as long as a guest lingered at the great mansion above him, was 
no kin to old Rip, and we strongly suspect that his name was borrowed ; 
but he kept refreshments that strengthened many a weary toiler up the 
mountain — liquors equal, no doubt, to those in the "wicked flagons" that 
the ancient one served to the ghostly company — and from a rude spout 
poured cooling draughts into his cabin from a mountain spring, more 
delicious than ever came from the juice of the grape. 

There are many delightful resting-places upon the road, soon after 
leaving Rip's cabin, as we toil wearily up the mountain,- where the eye 
takes in a magnificent panorama of hill and valley, forest and river, 
hamlet and village, and thousands of broad acres where herds graze and 
the farmer gathers his crops, — much of it dimly refined because of distance 
— a beautifully coloured map rather than a picture. These delight the 
eye and quicken the pulse, as has been remarked ; but there is one place 



156 



THE HUDSON. 



upon that road where the ascending weary ones enjoy more exquisite 
pleasure for a moment than at any other point in all that mountain region. 
It is at a turn in the road where the Mountain House stands suddenly 
before and above the traveller, revealed in perfect distinctness — column, 
capital, window, rock, people — all apparently only a few rods distant. 
There, too, the road is level, and the traveller rejoices in the assurance 
that the toilsome journey is at an end ; when, suddenly, he finds himself, 
like the young pilgrim in Cole's " Yoyage of Life," disappointed in his 




MOUNTAIN HOUSE, FEOM THE EOAD. 



course. The road that seemed to be leading directly to that beautiful 
mansion, upon the crag just above him, turns away, like the stream that 
appeared to be taking the ambitious young voyager directly to the shadowy 
temple of Fame in the clouds ; and many a weary step must be taken, 
over a crooked, hilly road, before the traveller can reach the object of his 
journey. 

The grand rock-platform, upon which the Mountain House stands, is 
reached at last ; and then comes the full recompense for all weari- 
ness. Bathed — immersed — in pure mountain air, almost three thousand 



THE HUDSON. 



157 



feet above tide-water, full, positive, enduring rest is given to every 
muscle after a half hour's respiration of that invigorating atmosphere ; 
and soul and limb are ready for a longer, loftier, and more rugged 
ascent. 

There is something indescribable in the pleasure experienced during the 
first hour passed upon the piazza of the Mountain House, gazing upon the 
scene toward the east. That view has been described a thousand times. 
I shall not attempt it. Much rhetoric, and rhyme, and sentimental 
platitudes have been employed in the service of description, but none have 
conveyed to my mind a picture so graphic, truthful, and satisfactory as 
Natty Bumpo's reply to Edward's question, in one of Cooper's "Leather- 
Stocking Tales," " "What see you when you get there?" 

"^Creation I " said Natty, dropping the end of his rod into the water, 
and sweeping one hand around him in a circle, " all creation, lad. I was 
on that hill when Vaughan burnt 'Sopus, in the last war, and I saw the 
vessels come out of the Highlands as plainly as I can see that lime-scow 
rowing into the Susquehanna, though one was twenty times further from 
me than the other.* The river was in sight for seventy miles under my 
feet, looking like a curled shaving, though it was eight long miles to its 
banks. I saw the hills in the Hampshire Grants, the Highlands of the 
river, and all that God had done, or man could do, as far as the eye could 
reach — you know that the Indians named me for my sight, ladf — and from 
the flat on the top of that mountain, I have often found the place where 
Albany stands; and as for 'Sopus! the day the royal troops burnt the 
town, the smoke seemed so nigh that I thought I could hear the screeches 
of the women." 

*' It must have been worth the toil, to meet with such a glorious view." 

" If being the best part of a mile in the air, and having men's farms at 

your feet, with rivers looking like ribands, and mountains bigger than the 

* Vision,' seeming to be haystacks of green grass under you, give any 

satisfaction to a man, I can recommend the spot." 



* Eeferenee is here made to the bui-nitig of the village of Kingston (whose Indian name of E-ao-pus 
was retained until a recent period), by a British force under General Vaughan, in the Autumn of 1777. 
t "Hawk-Eye." 



158 THE HUDSON. 



The aerial pictures seen from the Mountain House are sometimes 
marvellous, especially during a shower in the plain, when all is sunshine 
above, while the lightning plays and the thunder rolls far below the 
dwellers upon the summits ; or after a storm, when mists are driving over 
the mountains, struggling with the wind and sun, or dissolving into 
invisibility in the pure air. At rare intervals, an apparition, like the 
spectre of the Brocken, may be seen. A late writer, who was once there 
during a summer storm, was favoured with the sight. The guests were 
in the parlour, when it was announced that ' * the house was going past 
on the outside ! " All rushed to the piazza, and there, sure enough, upon 
a moving cloud, more dense than the fog that enveloped the mountain, was 
a perfect picture of the great building, in colossal proportions. The mass 
of vapour was passing slowly from north to south, directly in front, at a 
distance, apparently, of two hundred feet from the building, and reflected 
the noble Corinthian columns which ornament the front of the building, 
every window, and all the spectators. The cloud moved on, and "ere 
long," says the writer, "we saw one pillar disappear, and then another. 
"W"e, ourselves, who were expanded into Brobdignags in size, saw the gulf 
into which we were to enter and be lost. I almost shuddered when my 
turn came, but there was no eluding my fate ; one side of my face was 
veiled, and in a moment the whole had passed like a dream. An instant 
before, and we were the inhabitants of a 'gorgeous palace,' but it was 
the 'baseless fabric of a vision,' and now there was left 'not a wreck 
behind.' " 

As a summer shower passes over the plain below, the cftect at the 
Mountain House is sometimes truly grand, even when the lightning is not 
seen or the thunder heard. A young woman sitting at the side of the 
writer when this page was penned, and who had recently visited that 
eyrie, recorded her vision and impressions on the spot. "The whole 
scene before us," she says, " was a vast panorama, constantly varying and 
changing. The blue of the depths and distances — clouds, mountains, and 
shadows — was such that the perception entered into our very souls. How 
shall I describe the colour ? It was not mazarine, because there was no 
blackness in it ; it was not sunlit atmosphere, because there was no white 
brightness in it ; and yet there was a sort of hidden, beaming brilliancy, 



THE HUDSON. 



159 



that completely absorbed our eyes and hearts. It was not the blue of water, 
because it was not liquid or crystal-like ; it was something as the calm, 

soft, lustre of a steady blue eye And how various were the forms 

and motions of the vapour ! Hills, mountains, domes, pyramids, wreaths 
and sprays of mist arose, mounted, hung, fell, curled, and almost leaped 
before us, white with their own spotlessness, but not bright with the sun's 

rays, for the luminary was still obscured We looked down to 

behold what we might discover. A breath of heaven cleared the mist 




VIEW FROM SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 



from below, — softly at first, but gradually more decisive. Larger and 
darker became a spot in the magic depths, when, lo ! as in a vision, fields, 
trees, fences, and the habitations of men were revealed before our eyes. 
For the first time something real and refined lay before us, far down in 
that wonderful gulf. Par beneath heaven and us slept a speck of creation, 
unlighted by the evening rays that touched us, and colourless in the 
twilight obscurity. Intently we watched the magic glass, but — did we 
breathe upon its surface ? — a mist fell before us, and we looked up as if 
awakened from a dream." 



160 - TUE HUDSON. 



Although the Mountain House is far below the higher summits of the 
range, portions of four States of the Union, and an area of about ten 
thousand square miles, are comprised in the scope of vision from its piazza. 
From the top of the South Mountain near, and three hundred feet above 
the Mountain House, and of the North Mountain more distant and higher, 
a greater range of sight may be obtained, including a portion of a fifth 
State. From the latter, a majestic view of mountain scenery, and of the 
lowlands southward, may be obtained at the price of a little fatigue, for 
which full compensation is given. The Katers-Kill* lakes, lying in a 
basin a short distance from the Mountain House, with all their grand 
surroundings, the house itself, and the South Mountain, and the Eound 
Top or Liberty Cap, form the middle ground ; while in the dim distance 
the winding Hudson, with the Esopus, Shawangunk, and Highland ranges 
are revealed, the borders of the river dotted with villas and towns 
appearing mere white specks on the landscape. 




CHAPTER IX. 




LITTLE more than two miles from the Mountain 
House, by a rongh road, is an immense gorge 
scooped from the rugged hills, into which pours 
the gentle outlet of the little Katcrs-Kill lakes, in 
a fall first of one hundred and seventy-five feet, 
and close to it another of eighty feet. The falls 
have been so well described by the " Leather- 
stocking " ("Natty Bumpo"), that a better 
picture cannot be drawn : — 
"There's a place," said liatty, after describing the view from 
the Platform Eock at the Mountain House, "that in late times I 
relished better than the mountains, for it was more kivered by the 
trees, and more nateral." 

" And where was that?" inquired Edwards. 
" Why, there's a fall in the hills, where the water of two little ponds, 
that lie near each other, breaks out of their bounds, and runs over the 
rocks into the valley. The stream is, may be, such a one as would turn 
a mill, if so useless a thing was wanted in the wilderness. But the hand 
that made that ' Leap ' never made a mill ! There the water comes 
crooking and winding among the rocks, first so slow that a trout might 
swim in it, and then starting and running, just like any creatur that 
wanted to make a far spring, till it gets to where the mountain divides 
like the cleft hoof of a deer, leaving a deep hollow for the brook to 
tumble into. The first pitch is nigh two hundred feet, and the water 
looks like flakes of driven snow afore it touches the bottom ; and then the 
stream gathers itself together again for a new start, and may be flutters 
over fifty feet of flat rock, before it falls for another hundred, where it 
jumps about from shelf to shelf, first turning this-a-way, and then turning 

T 



162 



THE HUDSON. 



that-a-way, striving to get out of the holloAV, till it finally comes to the 

plain The rock sweeps like masou-work in a half-round on both 

sides of the fall, and shelves over the bottom for fifty feet ; so that when 
I've been sitting at the foot of the first pitch, and my hounds liave run 




I 



KATEES-KILL FALLS. 



into the caverns behind the sheet of water, they've looked no bigger than 
so many rabbits. To my judgment, lad, it's the best piece of work I've 
met with in the woods ; and none know how often the hand of God is seen 
in the wilderness, but them that rove it for a man's life." 
" Does the water run into the Delaware ? " asked Edwards. 



I 



THE HUDSON. 163 



" 'No, no, it's a drop for the old Hudson : and a merry time it has until 
it gets down off the mountain." 

And if the visitor would enjoy one of the wildest and most romantic 
rambles in the world, let him follow that little stream on its way "off the 
mountains," down the deep,, dark, mysterious gorge, until it joins the 
Katers-Kill proper, that rushes through the "Clove" from the neigh- 
bourhood of Hunter, among the hills above, and thence onward to the 
plain. 

It was just after a storm when we last visited these falls. The traces 
of " delicate-footed May " were upon every shrub and tree. Tiny leaves 
were just unfolding all over the mountains, and the snowy dogwood 
blossoms were bursting into beauty on every hand. Yet mementoes of 
winter were at the falls. In the cavern at the back of them, heaps of ice 
lay piled, and a chilling' mist came sweeping up the gorge, at quick 
intervals, filling the whole amphitheatre with shadowy splendour when 
sunlight fell upon it from between the dissolving clouds, While 
sketching the cascades, memory recurred to other visits we had made there 
in midsummer, when the wealth of foliage lay upon tree and shrub ; and 
also to a description given us by a lady, of her visit to the falls in winter, 
with Cole, the artist, when the frost had crystallised the spray into 
gorgeous fret-work all over the rocks, and made a spendid cylinder of 
milk-white ice from the base to the crown of the upper cascade. Of these 
phases Bryant has sung : — 

" Midst greens and shades the Katers-Kill leaps, 
From cliffs where the wood-tlower clings ; 
All summer he moistens his verdant steeps, 
With the sweet light spra}' of the mountain springs ; 
And he shakes the woods on the mountain side. 
When they di-ip with the rains of autumn tide. 

" But when, in the forests bare and old. 
The blast of December calls. 
He builds, in the star-light clear and cold, 
A palace of ice, wliere liis torrent falls, 
With turret, and arch, and fret-work fair, 
And pillars blue as the summer air." 

The tourist, if he fails to traverse the rugged gorge, should not omit 
a ride from the Mountain House, down through the "Clove" to Palensville 



164 



THE HUDSON. 



and the plain, a distance of about eight miles. Unpleasant as was the day 
when we last visited the mountains, we returned to Katz-Kill by that 
circuitous route. After leaving the falls, we rode about three miles before 
reachin"' the " Clove." Huge masses of vapour came rolling up from its 
lower depths, sometimes obscuring everything around us, and then, 




THE FAWM'S LEAI', 



drifting away, laving the lofty summits of the mountains that stretch far 
southward, gleaming in the fitful sunlight, and presenting unsurpassed 
exhibitions of aerial perspective. Down, down, sometimes with only a 
narrow space between the base of a high mountain on one side, and steep 



THE HUDSON. 



165 



precipices upon the other, whose feet are washed by the rushing Katers- 
Kill, our crooked road pursued its way, now passing a log-house, now a 
pleasant cottage, and at length the ruins of a leather manufacturing village, 
deserted because the bark upon the hills around, used for tanning, is 
exhausted. Near this picturesque scene, the Katcrs-Kill leaps into a 




SCENE OX THE KATEKS-KILL, NEAR PALENSVILLE. 



seething gulf between cleft rocks, and flows gently on to make still greater 
plunges into darker depths a short distance below. This cleft in the rocks 
is called the Pawn's Leap, a young deer haying there escaped a hunter 
and his dog, that pursued to the verge of the chasm. The fawn leaped it, 



166 THE HUDSON. 



but the dog, attempting to follow, fell into the gulf below and was 
drowned. The foiled hunter went home, without dog or game. By some, 
less poetical than others, the place is called the Dog Hole. 

A few rods below the Pawn's Leap, the road crosses a rustic bridge, at 
the foot of a sheer precipice, and for half a mile traverses a shelf cut from 
the mountain side, two hundred feet above the stream that has found its 
way into depths so dark as to be hardly visible. Upon the opposite side 
of the creek a perpendicular wall rises many hundred" feet, and then in 
slight inclination the mountain towers up at least a thousand feet higher, 
and forms a portion of the range known as the South Mountain. At the 
mouth of this cavernous gorge lies the pretty little village of Palensville, 
where we again cross the stream, and in a few moments find ourselves 
upon a beautiful and highly cultivated plain. Prom this point, along the 
base of the mountains to the road by which we enter them, or more directly 
to Katz-Ivill, the drive is a delightful one. 

Prom the lower borders of Columbia County, opposite Katz-Kill village, 
to Hyde Park, in Duchess County, a distance of thirty miles, the east 
bank of the Hudson is distinguished for old and elegant country seats, 
most of them owned and occupied by the descendants of wealthy 
proprietors who flourished in the last century, and were connected by 
blood and marriage with Eobert Livingston, a Scotch gentleman, of 
the family of the Earls of Linlithgow, who came to America in 1672, 
and married a member of the Schuyler family, the widow of a Van 
Eensselaer. He lived at Albany, and was secretary to the Commissioners 
of Indian Affairs for a long time. Prom 1684 to 1715 he had, from 
time to time, purchased of the Indians, and secured by patents from the 
English crown, large tracts of land in the present Columbia County. 
This land was then mostly wild and unprofitable, but became the basis 
of great family wealth. 

In the year 1710 Livingston's grants were consolidated, and Hunter, 
the royal governor, gave him a patent for a tract of a little more than 
one hundred and sixty-two thousand acres, for which he was to pay into 
the king's treasury "an annual rent of twenty-eight shillings, lawful 
money of New York," a trifle over fourteen shillings sterling ! This 
magnificent estate was constituted a manor, with political privileges. 



THE HUDSON. 



167 



The freeholders upon it were allowed a representative in the colonial 
legislature, chosen by themselves, and in 1716 the lord of the manor, by 
virtue of that privilege, took his seat as a legislator. He had already 
built a manor-house, on a grassy point upon the banks of the Hudson, at 




the mouth of Roeleffc Jansen's Kill, or Ancram Creek, of which hardly a 
vestige now remains.''"'' 

The lord of the manor gave, by his will, the lower portion of his 
domain to his son Robert, who built a finer mansion than the old manor- 
house, and named his seat Clermont. This was sometimes called the 



* In the year 1710 Governor Hunter, by order of Queen Anne, bought of Mr. Livingston 6,000 acres 
of his manor, for the sunr of a little more than £200, for the use of Protestant Germans then in England, 
who had been driven from tlieir homes in the Lower Palatinate of the Rhine, then the dominions of a 
cousin of the British Queen. About 1,800 of them settled upon the manor lands, and at a place on the 
opposite shore of the river, the respective localities being known as East and AVest Camp. These 
Germans were called Palatines, and are represented as the most enlightened people of their native land. 
Among Uiem was the widow Hannah Zenger, whose son, John Peter, apprenticed to William Bradford, 
the printer, became, in after life, the impersonation of the struggling democratic idea. He published a 
democratic newspaper, and because he commented freely upon the conduct of the royal governor, he 
was imprisoned and prosecuted for a libel. A jury acquitted liim, in the midst of great cheering by the 
people. His counsel was presented with the freedom of the city of New York in a gold box. By that 
verdict democratic ideas, and the freedom of the press, were nobly vindicated. 



168 



THE HUDSON. 



Lower Manor-house. There Eobert R. Liyingston, the eminent Chan- 
cellor of the State of New York, and associate of Eobert Pulton, in his 
steamboat experiments, was born. After his marriage he built a 
dwelling for himself, a little south of Old Clermont. His zeal in the 
Republican cause, at the kindling of the revolution, made him an arch 
rebel in the estimation of the British ministry and the officers in the 
service of the crown in America; and when, in the autumn of 1777, 
General Vaughan, at the head of the royal troops, went up the Hudson, 




on a marauding expedition, to produce a diversion in favour of Burgoyne, 
then environed by the American army at Saratoga, they proceeded as 
high as Clermont, burnt Livingston's new house, and the old one, where 
he Avas born, and where his widowed mother resided, and then retreated 
to New York. Mrs. Livingston immediately built another mansion at 
Old Clermont, on the site of the rviins, which was occupied by Mr. Cler- 
mont Livingston when these sketches were prepared, and her "rebel" 
son erected for himself a more elegant one than that which had been 
destroyed, a little distance from the ruins. This he named also Clermont. 



THE HUDSON. 169 



It was well preserved iu its original style by the Misses Clarkson, the 
present proprietors. The mansion is beautifully situated, and, like all 
the villas in this neighbourhood, commands a fine prospect of the Katz- 
bergs. It was described, as long ago as 1812, as "one of the most 
commodious houses in the State, having a river front of 104 feet, and a 
depth of 91 feet, and consisting of a main body of two stories and four 
pavilions," in one of which the chancellor had "a library of 4,000 well- 
chosen volumes." There he died in the spring of 1813. 

"Mr. Livingston," says a contemporary, "was a very useful and 
benevolent man, a scholar of profound erudition, an ardent patriot, and a 
prompt and decided promoter of all the essential interests of the country." 
He took special interest in improvements in agriculture and manufactures, 
and on his return to the United States, from an embassy to France, at the 
beginning of the present century, he introduced into this country some of 
the finest specimens of the Merino sheep, from the celebrated flock of 
llambouillet in France. As early as 1812, it was estimated that there 
were in the United States at least 60,000 descendants of the Clermont 
flock, of which about 1,000 were at Clermont. 

Mr. Livingston's chief honour as a man of science, and promoter of 
useful interests, is derived from his aid and encouragement in efi'orts 
which resulted in the entire success of steam navigation. As early as 
1797, he was engaged with an Englishman named Nesbit in experiments. 
They built a steamboat on the Hudson river, at a place now known as 
De Koven's Cove, or Bay, about half a mile below Tivoli, or Upper Eed 
Hook Landing. Brunei, the engineer of the Thames Tunnel, and father 
of the originator and constructor of the Great Eastern steamship, was the 
engineer. The enterprise was not successful. Livingston entered upon 
other experiments, when he was interrupted by his appointment as 
United States minister to the court of France. In Paris he became 
acquainted with Eobcrt Fulton's experiments there. "With his science 
and money, Livingston joined him. They succeeded in their undertaking, 
as proved by demonstrations on the Seine, returned to America, and in 
1806 imported a steam-engine, made by Watt and Bolton, iu England. 
A boat was constructed at Brown's ship-yard, in New York, and was 
completed in August, 1807, when it was propelled by its machinery to 



170 



THE HUDSON. 



Hobokcn, on the Jersey shore, where John Stevens (Mr. Livingston's 
brother-iu-hvw) had been experimenting in the same direction for fifteen 
years. That first successful steamboat was named Clermont, in compli- 




MEW AT Dli KUVK.N'S BAV. 



ment to Chancellor Livingston, and made her first voyage to Albany at 
the beginning of September, 1807.*' 

At Tivoli is the mansion of John Swift Livingston, Esq., built before 



* The Clermont was 100 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 7 feet deep. The following advertisement 
appeared in the Albany Gazette on the 1st of September, 1807 : — 

" The Korth Mirer Steamboat will leave Paulus's Hook 
[Jersey City] on Friday, the 4tli of September, at 9 in the 
morning, and airive at Albany on Satiu'da)', at 9 in the 
afternoon. Provisions, good berths, and accommodation are 
provided. The cliarge to each passenger is as follows : — 

To Newburgh, Dollars, 3 Time, 14 hours. 

,, Pouglikeepsie „ 4 ,, 17 ,, 

„ Esopus ,, 5 „ 20 „ 

„ Hudson „ 5i „ 30 „ 

„ Albany „ 7 „ 36 ,, 

" Mr. Fulton's new steamboat," said the same paper, on 
the 5th of October, " left New Yorlc on tlie 2nd, at 10 o'clock, 
A.^r., against a strong tide, verj' rougli water, and a violent gale from the north. She made a headway, 
against the most sanguine expectations, and without being rocked by the waves ! " 







THE CLERMOM". 



THE HUDSON. 



171 



the war for independence. It is surrounded by a pleasant park and 
gardens, and commands a view of the village of Saugerties, on the west 
shore of tlie Hudson, and that portion of the Katzbergs on which the 
Mountain House stands. That building may be seen, as a white spot on 
the distant hills, in our sketch. Mr. Livingston's house was occupied by 
one of that name when the British burnt Old Clermont and the residence 
of the chancellor. They landed in De Kovcn's Cove, or Bay, just below, 
and came up with destructive intent, supposing this to be the residence 




LIVINGSTON'S MANSION AT TIVOLI. 



of the arch offender. The proprietor was a good-humoured, hospitable 
man. He soon convinced the invaders of their error, supplied them 
bountifully with wine and other refreshments, and made them so kindly 
and cheery, that had he been the "rebel " himself, they must have spared 
his property. They passed on, performed their destructive errand, partook 
of the good things of Mr. Livingston's larder and wine-cellar on their 
return, and sailed down the river to apply the torch to Kingston, a few 
miles below. 

Opposite Tivoli, in Ulster County, is the pleasant village of Sanger- 



172 



THE HUDSON. 



ties,*' near the mouth of the Esopus Creek, which comes flowing from the 
south through a beautiful valley, and enters the Hudson here. Iron, 
paper, and white-lead are manufactured there extensively, and between 
the river and the mountains are almost inexhaustible quarries of flagging 
stone. A once picturesque fall or rapid, around which a portion of the 
village is clustered, has been partially destroyed by a dam and unsightly 




MOUTU OF ESOPUS CEEEK, SAt' GERTIES. 



bridge above it, yet some features of grandeur and beauty remain. The 
chief business part of the village lies upon a plain with the Katzbergs for 
a background, and on the high right bank of the creek, where many of 
the first-class residences are situated, an interesting view of the mouth of 
Zaeger's Kill, or Esopus Creek, with the lighthouse, river, and the fertile 
lands on the eastern shore, may be obtained. 'Near this village was the 
West Camp of the Palatines, already mentioned. 

About five miles below Tivoli is Annandale, the seat of John 



* Incorporated Ulster in 1S31. The name is derived from the Dutch word Zaeger, a sawyer. Peter 
Pietersen having built a saw-mill at the Falls, where the village stands, the stream was called Sawyer's 
Creek, or Zaeger's Kill, since, by coiTuption, Saugerties. 



THE HUDSON. 173 




Bard, Esq. As we approached it from the north on a pleasant day in 
June, along the picturesque road that links almost a score of beautiful 
villas, the attention was^ suddenly arrested by the appearance of an elegant 
little church, built of stone in the early Anglo-Gothic style, standing on 
the verge of an open park. JN'ear it was a long building, in similar style 
of architecture, in course of erection. On inquiry, we found the church 
to be that of the Holy Innocents, built by the proprietor of Annandale 
upon his estate, for the use of the inhabitants of that region as a free 
chapel. The new building was for 
St. Stephen's College, designed as a 
training school for those who are pre- 
paring to enter the General Theological 
Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, in New York city. For this 
purpose Mr. Bard had appropriated, 
as a gratuity, the munificent sum of 
60,000 dollars. He had deeded eigh- 
teen acres of land to the College, and pledged 1,000 dollars a year for the 
support of a profes.sor in it. The institution had been formally recognised 
as the Diocesan Training College; the legislature of New York had 
granted the trustees an act of incorporation, and liberal subscriptions had 
been made to place it upon a stable foundation. In the midst of the 
grove of fine old trees seen in the direction of the river bank from the 
road near the College, stands the Villa of Annandale, like all its 
neighbours commanding extensive river and mountain scenery. 

Adjoining Annandale on the south is Montgomery Place, the residence 
of the family of the late Edward Livingston, brother of the Chancellor, 
who is distinguished in the annals of his country as a leading United 
States senator, the author of the penal code of the State of Louisiana, and 
ambassador to France. The elegant mansion was built by the widow of 
General Richard Montgomery, a companion-in-arms of Wolfe when he 
fell at Quebec, and who perished under the walls of that city at the head 
of a storming party of Eepublicans on the 31st of December, 1775. 
Montgomery was one of the noblest and bravest men of his age. "When 
he gave his young wife a parting kiss at the house of General Schuyler, 



174 



THE HUDSON. 



at Saratoga, and hastened to join that officer at Ticonderoga, in the 
campaign that proved fatal to him, he said, " You shall never blush for 
Tonr Montgomery." Gallantly did he vindicate ^hat pledge. And when 
his virtues were extolled by Barre, Burke, and others in the British 
parliament, Lord North exclaimed, " Curse on his virtues ; he has undone 
his country." 

The wife of Montgomery was a sister of Chancellor Livingston. "With 
ample pecuniary means and good taste at command, she built this mansion, 




MONTGOMERY PLACE, 



and there spent fifty years of widowhood, childless, but cheerful. The 
mansion and its 400 acres passed into the possession of her brother 
Edward, and there, as we have observed, members of his family now reside. 
Of all the fine estates along this portion of the Hudson, this is said to be 
the most perfect in its beauty and arrangements. "Waterfalls, picturesque 
bridges, romantic glens, gi'oves, a magnificent park, one of the most 
beautiful of the ornamental gardens in this country, and views of the river 
and mountains, unsurpassed, render Montgomery Place a reti'eat to be 
coveted, even by the most favoured of fortune. , 



THE HUDSON. 



175 



Four miles by the raihvay below Tivoli is the Barrytown Station, or 
Lower Eed Hook Landing. The villages of Upper and Lower Eed Hook, 
like most of the early towns along the Hudson, lie back from the river. 
Tivoli and Barrytown are their respective ports. A short distance below 
the latter, connected by a winding avenue with the public road already 
mentioned, is Rokeby, the seat of William B. A.stor, Esq., who is 
distinguished as the wealthiest man in the United States. It was formerly 
the residence of his father-in-law, General John Armstrong, an officer in 




THE KATZBEEGS FROM MOJiTGOMEEV PLACE. 



the war for independence, and a member of General Gates's military 
family. Armstrong was the author of the celebrated addresses which 
were privately circulated among the officers of the Continental Array lying 
at Newburgh, on the Hudson, at the close of .the war, and calculated to 
stir up a mutiny, and even a rebellion against the civil power. The feeble 
Congress had been unable for a long time to provide for the pay of the 
soldiers about to be disbanded and sent home in poverty and rags. There 
was apathy in Congress and among the people on the subject ; and these 
addresses were intended to stir up the latter and their representatives to 



176 



THE HUDSON. 



the performance of their duty in making some provision for their faithful 
servants, rather than to excite the army to take affairs into their own 
hand, as was charged. Through the wisdom and firmness of Washington, 
the event was so overruled as to give honour to the army and benefit the 
country. Washington afterwards acquitted Major Armstrong of all evil 
intentions, and considered his injudicious movement (instigated, it is 
supposed, by Gates) as a patriotic act. 

Armstrong afterwards married a sister of Chancellor Livingston, and 




was chosen successively to a seat in the United States senate, an 
ambassador to France, a brigadier-general in the army, and secretary-of- 
war. He held the latter office while England and the United States were 
at war, in 1812-14. He was the author of a "Life of General Mont- 
gomery," "Life of General Wayne," and "Historical Notices of the War 
of 1812." Eokeby, where this eminent man lived and died, is delightfully 
situated, in the midst of an undulating park, farther from the river than 
the other villas, but commanding some interesting glimpses of it, with 
more distant landscapes and mountain scenery. Among the latter may 
be seen the range of the Shawangunk (pronounced shon-gum), in the far 



THE HUDSON. 



177 




]!F.EKMAX'S HOUSE. 



south-west. Here Mr. Aster's family reside about eight months of the 
year. 

A few miles below Eokeby, and lying upon an elevated plain two miles 
from the river, is the beautiful village of Ehinebeck, containing little 
more than 1,000 inhabitants. The first settler was "William Beekman, or 
Beckman, who came from the Rhine, in Germany, in 1647, purchased all 
this region from the Indians, and gave homes to several poor families who 
came with him. The name of the river in 
his fatherland, and his own, are commemo- 
rated in the title of the town — Ehine-Beck. 
The house built by him is yet standing, upon 
a high point near the Ehinebeck station. 
It is a stone building. The bricks of which 
the chimney is constructed were imported 
from Holland. In this house the first public 
religious services in that region were held, 

and it was used as a fortress in early times, against the Indians. It 
now belongs to the Heermance family, descendants of early settlers 
there. Beekman's son, Henry, afterwards procured a patent from the 
English government for a very extensive tract of land in Duchess County, 
including his Ehinebeck estate. 

Just below the Ehinebeck Station is EUerslie, the seat of the Hon. 
"William Kelly. No point on the Hudson commands a more interesting 
view of the river and adjacent scenery, than the southern front of the 
mansion at EUerslie. The house is at an elevation of two hundred feet 
above the river, overlooking an extensive park. The river is in full view 
for more than fourteen miles. At the distance of about thirty-five miles 
are seen the Eish-Kill Mountains, and the Hudson Highlands, while on 
the west, the horizon is boimded by the lofty Katzbergs. 

EUerslie is ninety miles from New York city, and contains about seven 
hundred acres of land, with a front on the river of a mile and a-half. Its 
character is different from that of an ordinary villa residence, being 
cultivated with much care as a farm, whilst great regard is had to 
improving its beauty, and developing landscape effects. The lawn and 
gardens occupy thirty acres; the greenhouse, graperies, &c., are among 

A A 



178 



THE HUDSON. 



the most complete in this couutiy. The park contains three hundred 
acres ; its surface is undulated, with masses of old trees scattered over it, 
and upon it feeds a large herd of thorough-bred Durham cattle, which the 
proprietor considers a more appropriate ornament than would be a herd 
of deer. 

A mile below EUerslie is "VVildercliff,^- the seat of Miss Mary Garrettson, 
daughter of the eminent Methodist preacher, Freeborn Garrettson, who 
married a sister of Chancellor Livingston. The mansion is a very modest 




ELLERSLIE. 



one, compared with some in its neighbourhood. It was built in accordance 
with the simple tastes of the original proprietor. Mr. Garrettson was a 
leader among the plain Methodists in the latter part of the last century, 
when that denomination was beginning to take fast hold upon the public 
mind in America, and his devoted, blameless life did much to commend 
his people to a public disposed to deride them. 



* More properly Wilder Klippe. This is a Dutch word, signifjnng wild man's, or wild Indian's, 
cliffe. Tlie first settlers found upon a smooth rock, on the river shore, at this place, a rude delineation 
of two Indians, one with a tomahawk, and the other a calumet, or pipe of peace. This gave them the 
idea of the name. " 



THE HUDSON. 



179 



The very beautiful view from this mansion, down the river, is 
exceedingly charming for its simple beauty, so much in harmony with 
the associations of the place. In the centre of the lawn stood a sun-dial. 
On the left was a magnificent wide-spreading elm. On the right, through 
the trees, might be seen the cultivated western shore of the Hudson, with 
the mountains beyond, and in front was the river, stretching away south- 
ward, at all times dotted with the white sails of water-craft. This 
mansion has many associations connected with the early struggles of 




VIEW FROM WILDEKCLIFF. 



Methodism, very dear to the hearts of those who love that branch of the 
Christian church. 

"WTien Mr. Garrettson left the Church of England, in which he had 
been educated, the Methodists were despised in most places. He was a 
native of Maryland. Eminently conscientious, he gave his slaves their 
freedom, and entering upon his ministry, preached everywhere, on all 
occasions and at all times, offending the wicked and delighting the good, 
and fearless of all men, having full faith in a special Providence, and 
oftentimes experiencing proofs of the truth of the idea to which he clung. 
One example of his proofs may be cited. A mob had seized him on one 



180 



THE HUDSON. 



occasion, and were taking him to prison by order of a magistrate, when 
a flash of lightning dispersed them, and they left him unmolested. In 
1788 he was appointed Presiding Elder over the churches in the district, 
extending from Long Island Sound to Lake Champlain, more than two 
hundred miles. One of his converts was the daughter of Judge Livingston, 
of Clermont. Mr. Garrettson married her in 1793, and six years after- 
wards they built the mansion at Wildercliff. Probably no house in the 
world has ever held within it so many Methodist preachers as this, from 
the most humble of "weak vessels" up to Bishop Asbury, and other 
dignitaries of the church ; for, with ample means at command, the doors 
of Mr. Garrettson and his wife were ever open to all, especially to their 
brethren in the ministry. And that generous hospitality is yet dispensed 
by the daughter, whose table is seldom without a guest. 




CHAPTER X. 




PPOSITE Phinebeck Station is the old Kingston Landing, 

where the three thousand 15ritish troops under General 

Vaughan disembarked, and marched to the village of 

Kingston, two miles in the interior, and laid it in 

^"^ ashes. That point was the port of Kingston until 

within a few years, and the New York and Albany steamboats 

stopped there, but the thriving village at the mouth of the Eondout 

Creek, about a mile below, has caused it to be abandoned. 

The village of Kingston (originally called Esopus) — situated 
upon a broad plain on the banks of the Esopus Creek, with a 
fine range of the southern Katzbergs in the rear — is one of the oldest 
settlements in the State of New York.^' As early as 1614, Dutch traders 
built a redoubt at the mouth of Eondout (a corruption of Eedoubt) Creek. 
A few families settled soon afterwards upon or near the site of Kingston, 
and called the place "Wiltwyck, or Wild Indian Town. They were soon 
dispersed by the savages. Another settlement then followed ; again the 
savages dispersed them. Finally, in 1660, a treaty was concluded that 
seemed to promise security to the settlers. But the wrath of the Indians 
became fiercely kindled against the white people by Governor Stuyvesant, 
who sent eleven Indian captives to Cura^oa, and sold them for slaves. 
In June, 1663, the Indians came into the open fort in great numbers, 
professedly to trade. At a concerted signal they fell upon the white 
people, murdered eighteen of them, and carried away forty-two as 
captives. The out settlements were all destroyed. A destructive war 
ensued. The Indians were expelled from the fort, and nine days after- 
wards a reinforcement came from New Amsterdam. The savages were 
pursued and almost exterminated. In the autumn they returned all the 
captives but three, and sued for peace. 



* The Indians appropriately called this spot At-kan-karten, Smooth Land. 



182 



THE HUDSON. 



Many'of the persecuted Huguenot families who fled from France settled 
at Kingston and in its vicinity, towards the close of the seventeenth 
century; and when the war for independence broke out in 1775, their 
descendants were found on the side of the republicans,^ Kingston was 
called a "nest of rebels." There, in the spring of 1777, the representatives 
of the people of the State formed a state constitution, and organised civil 
government under it. The first session of the legislature was held there 
in July following, but the members were obliged to flee in the autumn, on 




KINGSTON. 



the approach of Yaughan and his troops. These ascended the river from 
the Highlands, where Sir Henry Clinton had gained a victory, taken 
possession of Torts Clinton and Montgomery, and destroyed the obstructions 
in the river which prevented vessels passing northward. The object of 
Vaughan's expedition, as we have said, was to draw the attention of Gates 
and his army (then casting their meshes around Burgoyne) to the country 
below, where devastation and ruin were threatened. After passing the 
Highlands, they distressed the people along the shores of the river very 
much by burnings and plunderings. They landed at the port of Esopus, 



THE HUDSON. 



183 



or Kingston, on the loth of October, and proceeded to the village in two 
divisions. The town contained about 300 inhabitants, and the houses were 
mostly of stone. The people fled with what property they could carry 
away, and the soldiery burned every house but one. 

It is related that when the British landed at Kingston Point, some 
Dutchmen were at work just below it, and were not aware of the fact 
until they saw the dreaded "red-coats" near them. It was low water, 
and across the flats on the river shore they fled toward the place of the 
present village of Eondout as fast as their legs could carry them, not 
presuming to look behind them, lest, like Lot's wife, they might be detained. 
The summer haymakers had left a rake on the marsh meadow, and upon 
this one of the fugitives trod. The handle flew up behind him, and gave 
him a severe blow on the back of his head. Not doubting that a 
''Britisher" was close upon his heels, he stopped short, and throwing up 
his hands imploringly, exclaimed, "0 mein Got! mein Got! I kivs up. 
Hoorah for King Shorge ! " The innocent rake was all the enemy that 
was near, and the fugitive's sudden conversion was known only to a 
companion in the race, who had outstripped him a few paces. 

Hurley, a few miles from Kingston, became the place of refuge for the 
sufi'erers from the conflagration of the latter town. There, while Esopas 
was in flames, the republicans hanged a spy, who had been caught in the 
American camp near Newburgh, a few days before. He had been sent by 
Sir Henry Clinton with a message to Burgoyne. "When apprehended on 
suspicion, he was seen to cast something into his mouth and swallow it. 
An emetic was administered, and a silver bullet, hollow and elliptical in 
shape, was produced. In it, written upon tissue paper, was the following 
note, dated Fort Montgomery, October 8, 1777 : — 

^^ Nous rj void, and nothing now between us and Gates. I sincerely 
hope this little succour of ours may facilitate your operation. In answer 
to your letter of the 28th, by C. C, I shall only say I cannot presume to 
order, or even advise, for reasons obvious. I heartily wish you success. 

" Faithfully yours, ' ' H. Clix\to.\." 

The prisoner was tried : out of his own mouth he was condemned. He 
was taken to Hurley, and there hanged upon an apple-tree. That silver 



184 



THE HUDSON. 



bullet and the note are preserved in the family of Governor George 
Clinton. 

Kingston village is a very pleasant one, and the country about it affords 
delightful drives. Its population in 1860 was about 4,000, and the space 
between it and Eondout, a mile and a half distant, was rapidly filling up 
with dwellings. The two villages were already connected by gas-pipes, 
and public conveyances ply between them continually. 

Eondout (Eedoubt), at the mouth of Eondout Creek, is one of the 
busiest places on the river between Albany and New York. It was 
formerly called the Strand, then Kingston Landing, and finally Bolton, 




lai.NDui T ii:i:: i:. 



in honour of the then president of the Delaware and Hudson Canal 
Company. That canal, which penetrates the coal region of Pennsylvania, 
has its eastern terminus at Eddyville, two and a half miles up the 
Eondout Creek ; and the mouth of that stream is continually crowded 
with vessels engaged in carrying coals and other commodities. Immense 
piers have been erected in the middle of the stream for the reception and 
forwarding of coal. Here, and in the vicinity, are manufactories of 
cement, and also extensive quarries of flagstone — all of which, with the 



THE HUDSON. 185 



agricultural products of the adjacent country, giving freights to twenty 
steamboats and many sailing vessels. Lines of steamers run regularly 
from Rondout to Albany and New York, and intermediate places, and a 
steam ferry-boat connects the place with the Rhinebeck Station. 

The population of Rondout was about 6,000 in 1860. The greater 
proportion of the able-bodied men and boys were, in some way, connected 
with the coal business. Another village, the offspring of the same trade, 
and of very recent origin, stands just below the mouth of the Rondout 
Creek. It was built entirely by the Pennsylvania Coal Company. From 
that village, laid out in 1851, and containing a population of about 
1,400 souls, a large portion of the coal brought to the Hudson on the 
canal was shipped in barges for the north and west. It is called Port 
Ewen, in honour of John Ewen, then president of the company. 

Placentia is the name of the beautifully situated country seat of the 
late James Kirke Paulding, a mile above the village of Hyde Park, and 
seven north from Poughkcepsie. It stands upon a gentle eminence, over- 
looking a pleasant park of many acres, and commanding an extensive 
prospect of a fertile farming country on both sides of the river. Almost 
opposite Placentia is the model farm of Robert L. Pell, Esq., whose 
aj)ples, gathered from thousands of trees, are familiar to those who make 
purchases in the American and English fruit markets. Placentia has no 
history of special interest. It is a simple, beautiful retreat, now conse- 
crated in memory as the residence of a venerable novelist and poet — the 
friend and associate of Washington Irving in his early literary career. 
They were associated in the conducting of an irregular periodical entitled 
"Salmagundi," the principal object of which was to satirise the follies 
and foibles of fashionable life. Contrary to their expectation, it obtained 
a wide circulation, and they found many imitators throughout the 
country. It was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the refusal of the 
publisher to allow them any compensation. Paulding and Irving were 
personal fi'iends through a period of more than fifty years. Mr. Paulding 
lived in elegant retirement, at his country seat, for many years, enjoying 
his books, his pictures, and his friends. He passed away, at the 
beginning of 1860, at the age of more than fourscore years. 

Our last visit to Placentia was at the close of a most delightful afternoon 

B B 



186 



THE HUDSON. 



in early June. A sweet repose rested upon land and -water. The golden 
sun was delicately veiled in purple exhalations, and oyer all the scene 
silence deepened the solemnity of the thought that we were treading 
paths where a child of genius had daily walked, but who had lately 
turned aside to be laid to rest in the cool shadows of the tomb. 

The village of Hyde Park is upon a pleasant plain, high above the 
river, and half a mile from it. It received its name from Peter Faulconier, 
the private secretary of Sir Edward Hyde (afterwards Lord Combury), 




• - y< , - 



PLAt'EKTIA. 



the governor of the province of New York at the beginning of the last 
century. Faulconier purchased a large tract of land at this place, and 
named it Hyde Park in honour of the governor. Here the aspect of the 
western shores of the river changes from gently sloping banks and 
cultivated fields to rocky and precipitous bluff's ; and this character they 
exhibit all the way to Hobokcn, opposite New York, with few 
interruptions. 

At Hyde Park the river makes a sudden bend between rocky bluff's, 
and in a narrower channel. On account of this the Dutch settlers called 
the place Krom EUehoge, or Crooked Elbow. As is frequently the case 



THE HUDSON. 



187 



along the Hudson, the present name is a compound of Dutch and English, 
and is called Crom Elbow. 

Six miles below Hyde Park is the large rural city of Poughkeepsie, 
containing about 17,000 inhabitants. The name is a modification of the 
Mohegan word, Apo-keep-sinck,'^- signifying '* safe and pleasant harbour." 
Between two rocky bluffs was a sheltered bay (now filled with wharves), 




POUGHKEEPSIE, TEO-M LEWISBUEG. 



into the upper part of which leaped, in rapids and cascades, the Winnakee, 
called Eall Kill by the Dutch. The northerly bluff was called by the 

* The name of this city, as found in records and on maps, exhibits a most cm-ious specimen of ortho- 
graphic caprice, it being spelt in forty-two different ways, as follows :— Pakeepsie, Pacapsey, Pakepse}-, 
Paughkepsie, Pecapesy, Pecapsy, Pecapslie, Poclikeepsinck, Poeghkeepsing, Poeglikeeksingk, Poegh- 
keepsink, Pochkeepsey, Pochkeepsen, Pochkeepsy, Pochkepsen, Pochkj-phsingh, Pockeepsy, Pockep- 
seick, Pockepseng, Pokepsing, Pogjikeepsie, Poghkeei)sinck, Poghkeepsing, Poghkepse, Poghkepsen, 
Poghkeepsink, Poghkeepson, Poghkeepse, Pokeepsigh, Pokeepsingh, Pokeepsink, Pokeepsy, Poliepsinck. 
Pokkepsen, Poughkeepsey, Poukeepsie, Poukeepsy, Pikipsi, Picipsi, Pokepsie, Pokeepsie, Pouglikeepsie. 



188 THE HUDSON. 



Dutch Slange Klippe, or Snake or Adder Cliff, because of the venomous 
sei'pents which were abundant there in the olden time. The southern 
bluff bears the name of Call Eock, it having been a place from which the 
settlers called to the captains of sloops or single-masted vessels, when 
passage in them was desired. With this bay, or " safe harbour," is 
associated an Indian legend, of which the following is the substance : — 
Once some Delaware warriors came to this spot with Pequod captives. 
Among the latter was a young chief, who was offered life and honour if 
he would renounce his nation, receive the mark of the turtle upon his 
breast, and become a Delaware brave. He rejected the degrading 
proposition with disdain, and was bound to a tree for sacrifice, when a 
shriek from a thicket startled the executioners. A young girl leaped 
before them, and implored his life. She was a captive Pequod, with the 
turtle on her bosom, and the young chief was her affianced. The 
Delawares debated, when suddenly the war-whoop of some fierce Hurons 
made them snatch their arms for defence. The maiden severed the 
thongs that bound her lover, but in the deadly conflict that ensued, they 
were separated, and a Huron chief carried off the captive as a trophy. 
Her afiianced conceived a bold design for her rescue, and proceeded 
immediately to execute it. In the character of a wizard he entered the 
Huron camp. The maiden was sick, and her captor employed the wizard 
to prolong her life, until he should satisfy his revenge upon Uncas, her 
uncle, the great chief of the Mohegans. They eluded the vigilance of 
the Huron, fled at nightfall, with swift feet, towards the Hudson, and in 
the darkness, shot out upon its bosom, in a light canoe, followed by 
blood-thirsty pursuers. The strong arm of the young Pequod paddled his 
beloved one safely to a deep rocky nook near the mouth of the "Winnakee, 
concealed her there, and with a few friendly Delawares whom he had 
secured by a shout, he fought, conquered, and drove off the Huron 
warriors. The sheltered nook where the maiden lay was a safe harbour 
for her, and the brave Pequod and his friends joyfully confirmed its title 
to Apo-heep-sinch. 

Poughkeepsie was settled by the Dutch at the close of the seventeenth 
century. The first substantial stone building was erected not far from 
the Winnakec, by Bultus Yan Klcek, in the year 1705, and remained a 



THE HUDSON. 



189 




THE VAN KLEEK HOUSE 

There the legislature of 



hundred and thirty years, when it made way for modern improvements. 
This house, like many others built so early, was pierced with loop- 
holes for musketry, near the roof, that being a necossary precaution 
against attacks by the Indians. It was 
the scene of stirring events, being for ZK 

many years a tavern, and the gathering 
place of the people. When the old 
court-house was burned at the outbreak 
of the revolution, it became the meeting 
place of the citizens for public purposes. 
There Ann Lee, the founder of the 
Shaker church in America, was con- 
fined, in 1776, on a charge of com- 
plicity with the enemies of republicanism. 
New York, when driven by the torch from Kingston, in 1777, met, and 
continued during two sessions ; and there many of the members of the 
State Convention in 1788, to consider the Federal Constitution, found a 
home during the session. The city is partly upon a hill-side, sloping to 
the river, but chiefly upon an elevated plain, back of which is College 
Hill, whose summit is five hundred feet above the town. It is crowned 
with an edifice modelled, externally, after the Temple of Minerva, at 
Athens, and devoted to the use of a popular institution of learning. The 
views from this summit are extensive, and very interesting, and embrace 
a region about twenty-five hundred square miles in extent of the most 
diversified scenery. The city, appearing like a town in a forest,- lies at 
the foot of the spectator, and between the lofty Katzbergs on the north, 
and the Highlands on the south, the Hudson is seen at intervals, having 
the appearance of a chain of little lakes. Around, within an area of 
twenty to thirty miles in diameter, spreads out a farming country, like a 
charming picture, beautiful in every feature. 

The general appearance of Poughkeepsie from the hills above Lewis- 
burg, on the western side of the Hudson, is given in our sketch. It is 
one of the most delightful places for residence in the United States. It 
is centrally situated between New York the commercial, and Albany the 
political, capital of the State. Its streets are shaded with maple, elm, 



190 



THE HUDSON. 



and acacia trees, and their cleanliness is proverbial. It is celebrated for 
its numerous seminaries of learning for both sexes, the salubrity of its 
climate, the fertility of the surrounding country, and the wealth and 
general independence of its inhabitants. The eye and ear are rarely 
offended by public exhibitions of squalor or vice, while evidences of thrift 
are seen on every hand. 

From a high rocky bluff on the river front of Poughkeepsie, named the 
Call Eock, exquisite views of the Hudson, north and south, may be 
obtained. The scene southward, which includes a distant view of the 




THE HIGHLANDS, FEOM POUGHKEEPSIE. 



Highlands, is the most attractive. At all times the river is filled with 
water-craft of almost every description. The most striking objects on its 
surface are fleets of barges from the northern and western canals, loaded 
with the products of the fields and forests, lashed or tethered together, 
and towed by a steamboat. On these barges whole families sometimes 
reside during the season of navigation ; and upon lines stretched over 
piles of lumber, newly- washed clothes may be frequently seen fluttering 
in the breeze. One of these fleets appears in our sketch. 

Two miles below Poughkeepsie is Locust Grove, the seat of Professor 



THE HUDSON. 



191 



Samuel F. B. Morse, an eminent artist and philosopher, the founder of 
the American Academy of Design, but better known to the world as the 
author of the system of telegraphing by electro-magnetism, now used in 
almost every civilised country on the globe. For this wonderful contri- 
bution to science and addition to the world's inventions for moral and 
material advancement, he has been honoured by several royal testimonials, 
honorary and substantial, and by the universal gratitude and admiration 
of his countrymen. Locust Grove is his summer retreat, and from his 
study he has electrographic communication with all parts of the United 




LOCUST GROVE. 



States and the British provinces. The mansion is so embowered that it 
is almost invisible to the traveller on the highway. But immediately 
around it are gardens, conservatories, and a pleasant lawn, basking in the 
sunshine, and through vistas between magnificent trees, glimpses may be 
caught of the Hudson, the northern and southern ranges of mountains, 
and villages that dot the western shore of the river. Here the master 
dispenses a generous hospitality to friends and strangers, and with the 
winning graces of a modest, unobtrusive nature, he dt^lights all who enter 
the charmed circle of Locust Grove. For the man of taste and genius his 



192 



THE HUDSON. 



home is one of the most charming retreats to be found on the banks of 
the Hudson from the wilderness to the sea. 

About four miles below Poughkeepsie is an ancient stone farm-house 
and a mill, at the mouth of Spring Brook, at the eastern terminus of the 
Milton Ferry. Here, during the old war for independence, lived Theophilus 
Anthony, a blacksmith, farmer, miller, and staunch "Whig, who used his 
forge for most rebellious purposes. He assisted in making a great chain 
(of which I shall hereafter write), that was stretched across the Hudson 
in the Highlands at Port Montgomery, to prevent the British ships of war 




MILTUN FERRY AND HOESE-BOAT. 



ascending the river and carrying invading troops into the heart of th(? 
country. Por this offence, when the chain and accompanying boom were 
forced, and the vessels of Yaughan carried the firebrand to Esopus or 
Kingston, the rebel blacksmith's mill was laid in ashes, and he was 
confined in the loathsome Jerse]i prison-ship at New York, where he had 
ample time for reflection and penitence for three weary years. Alas ! the 
latter never came. He was a sinner against ministers, too hardened for 
repentance, and he remained a rebel until the close of his life. Another 
mill soon arose from the ashes of the old one, and there his grandsons, the 



THE HUDSON. 



193 



Messrs. Gill were grinding wheat when we were there for the descendants 
of both "Whigs and Tories, and never inquired into the politics of the 
passengers upon their boat at the Milton Ferry. That boat was keeping 
alive the memory of times before steam was used for navigation. It was 
one of only two vessels of the kind upon the Hudson in 1860, that were 
propelled by horse-power. The other was at Coxsakie. The Milton 
fevry-boat has since been withdrawn. 

Opposite Spring Brook is the village of Milton, remarkable, like its 




NEW HAMBURG TUNNKL. 



sister, Marlborough, a few miles below, for the picturesque beauty of the 
surrounding country and the abundance of Antwerp raspberries produced 
in its vicinity every year. There and at some places on the eastern shore, 
are the chief sources of the supply of that delicious fruit for the city of 
New York ; and the quantity raised is so great, that a small steamboat is 
employed for the sole purpose of carrying raspberries daily to the city. 
These villages are upon high banks, and are scarcely visible from the 
river. They have a background of rich farming lands, terminating 

c 



194 



THE HUDSON. 



beyond a sweet valley by a range of lofty bills that are covered with the 
primeval forest. They are the resort of New Yorkers during the heat of 
summer. 

Eight miles below Poughkeepsie is the little village of ISTew Hamburg, 
situated at the foot of a rocky promontory thickly covered with the Arbor 
Vita?, or white cedar, and near the mouth of the Wappingi's Creek, 
Through this bluff the Hudson River Railway passes in a tunnel 800 feet 
in length, and then crosses the mouth of the AVappingi, upon a causeway 




THE AKBOE VIT^. 



and drawbridge. All over this rocky bluff, including the roof of the 
tunnel, the Arbor Vita) shrubs stand thickly; and present, according to 
Loudon, the eminent English writer on horticulture and kindred subjects, 
some of the finest specimens of that tree to be found in the world. Here 
they may be seen of all sizes and most perfect forms, from the tiny shrub 
to the tall tree that shows its stem for several feet from the ground. The 
most beautiful are those of six to ten feet in height, whose branches shoot 
out close to the ground, forming perfect cones, and exhibiting nothing to 
the eye but delicate sprays and bright green leaves. When quite small 
these shrubs may be successfully transplanted ; but under cultivation they 



THE HUDSON. 



195 



sometimes lose their perfect form, and become irregular, like the common 
cedar tree. They are beglauiag to be exteasively used for hedges, and 
the ornamentation of pleasure grounds.'^' 

A pleasant glimpse of Marlborough, tkrough a broad ravine, may be 
obtained from the rough eminence above the 'New Hamburg tunnel, and 
also from the lime-kilns at the foot of the bluff, on the edge of the river, 
where a ferry connects the two villages. But one of the most interesting 
views on the Hudson, in this vicinity, is from the gravelly promontory 




MAKLBUKUL i.II, IKJ.M THE LIME.KILNS. 



near the town, at the mouth of the AVappiugi's Creek — a large stream that 
comes down from the hills in the north-eastern part of Duchess County, 
dispensing fertility and extensive water-power along its whole course. It 
is navigable for a mile and a half from its mouth, when it falls seventy- 
five feet, and furnishes power used by quite a large manufacturing village. 
It is usually incorrectly spelled Wappingers. Its name is derived from 



* The Ai'bor VittE is the 7hii>/a Occidcntalis of Liiinicus. It is not tlie genuine wliite cedar, although 
it frequently bears that name. In New England it is often called Hackmatack. Its leaves lie in flattened 
masses along the stems, and each is filled with a vesicle containing a thiu aromatic turpentine. It bears 
yellowish brown cones, about five lines in length. 



196 



THE HUDSON. 



the "Wappingi tribe of Indians, who, with the Mattoawans, inhabited this 
beautiful region on the Hudson, just north of the Highhmds. It shoukl 
be written Wappingi's Creek. 

From that gravelly height the Highlands, tlie village of Newburgh, and 
a large portion of the lower part of the " Long Reach" from Newburgh 
to Crom Elbow, are seen ; with the flat rock in the river, at the head of 
Newburgh Bay and near its western shore, known as Den DuyveVs Dans 
Kainer, or the Devil's Dance Chamber. This rock has a level surface of 
about half an acre (now covered with beautiful Arbor Yita: shrubs), and is 




MOUTH 01 ■V^ K\ lI^GI'b CEEEK 



separated from the main-land by a marsh. On this rock the Indians 
performed their peculiar semi-religious rites, q,^q^ pow-xcows^ before going 
upon hunting and fishing expeditions, or the war-path. They painted 
themselves grotesquely, built a large fire upon this rock, and danced 
around it with songs and yells, making strange contortions of face and 
limbs, under the direction of their conjurors or "medicine men." They 
would tumble, leap, run, and yell, when, as they said, the Devil, or Evil 
Spirit, would appear in the shape of a beast of prey, or a harmless animal; 
the former apparition betokened evil to their proposed undertaking, and 



THE HUDSON. 197 



the lattei' prophesied of good. For at least a century after the Europeans 
discovered the river, these hideous rites were performed upon this spot, 
and the Dutch skippers who navigated the Hudson, called the rock Den 
Duyvel's Dans Kamer. Here it was that Peter Stuyvesant's crew were 
"most horribly frightened by roystering devils," according to the veracious 
Ivnickerbockcr. 

Sixteen miles below Poughkeepsie, on the same side of the Hudson, is 
the small village of Fishkill Landing, having for a background, in a view 
of it from the river, the lofty range of the Fishkill Mountains, which form 
a portion of the Highlands proper, through which the Hudson flows a few 
miles below. Here is the Fishkill and jN'ewburgh railway-station, and a 
long wharf that stretches over the shallow bed of the river to the deep 
channel far in the direction of I^ewburgh. That large town lies upon the 
steep slope on the western shore, and presents a beautiful appearance to 
the traveller by railway or steamboat, especially when it is lighted up by 
the morning sun. Around that old town, the site of the oldest permanent 
settlement in Orange County, are clustered many associations of the war 
for independence ; for near there the Continental Army was encamped ; 
there it was disbanded ; and in a house yet standing, and well preserved, 
Washington had his head-quarters for a long time, as wo shall observe 
presently. 

The first European settlement at Newburgh was commenced in 1709, 
by some Palatines, who went up from New York for the purpose, seated 
themselves a little above Quassaic (sometimes called Chambers') Creek, 
where the Quassaic Indians resided, and laid the foundations of " New- 
borough." They obtained a patent from Queen Anne in 1719, but 
becoming dissatisfied, they went some to Pennsylvania, and some to the 
Mohawk' Valley. English, Irish, Kew England, and Huguenot settlers 
supplied their places. New Windsor (two miles below), and other places, 
were settled, and a flourishing little commonwealth was commenced. 
New Windsor, upon the shores of a sheltered bay near the mouth of the 
Quassaic, was, for some time, the rival of Newburgh. They were 
included in the "Highland Precinct" until 1763, when tbcy were 
divided into separate municipalities, and so remained until organised into 
towns in 1788. 




CHAPTEll XI. 

sj HE house at Newburgh, "wliich was occupied by 
Washington, was built by Jonathan Hasbrouck, 
in 1750, and is known by the resjDective names of 
"Hasbrouck House" and "Washington Head- 
tjuarters." It has been the property of the State for 
several years, and a sufficient annual appropriation 
from the State treasury is made, to keep it, with the 
grounds around, in good order. Within it are 
collected many relics of the reyolution, the war of 1812-15, and the war 
with Mexico. 

In connection with this house, as the head-quarters of the army, 
occurred one of the most interesting events in the life of Washington, to 
which allusion has already been made. It was in the spring of 1783. 
Peace had been declared, a preliminary treaty had been signed by Great 
Britain and the United States, and the Continental Army was soon to be 
disbanded. The civil confederacy was weak. For a long time the 
Congress had been unable to pay the army, and officers and soldiers were 
likely to be sent home penniless, large pecuniary creditors of tlie country 
whose independence they had achieved. Secret consultations were held 
among a few of the officers. Tbey had lost faith in the Congress, and 
began to doubt the feasibility of republican government, and some of 
them indirectly offered the power and title of King to Washington. He 
spurned the proposition with indignation. Then an appeal to the officers 
of the army was written, and secretly disseminated, in which grievances 
were set forth, and they were advised to take matters into their own 
hands, and, in effect, form a military despotism if the Congress should 
not speedily provide for their pay. Washington was informed of the 
movement. He resolved to control, without seeming to oppose it. He 
called a meeting of the officers, and the suspected ringleader of the move- 
ment was asked to preside. When all Averc assembled, AVashington 



THE HUDSON. 



199 



stepped fonvavd and read to them a powerful appeal to their patriotism. 
His first words, before unfolding the paper, touched every heart. " You 
see, gentlemen," he said, as he placed his spectacles before his eyes, 
"that I have grown not only grey, but Hind, in your service." His 
address, as usual, was short, pointed, convincing, and most persuasive. 
All eyes were filled with tears. The spirit of mutiny and revolt shrank 
abashed, and the assembly resolved unanimously, "That the officers of 
the American army view with abhorrence, and reject with disdain, the 
infamoxis propositions contained in a late anonymous address to the officers 




■« ASinN( TON b HI \I) QL VEIITS VI >EA\BIRC II 



of the army." This scene did not occur at head-quarters, but in a large 
temporary building a few miles in the interior, near where the army lay 
at that time. 

In the centre of the Hasbrouek House, or Head-quai^ters, is a large 
hall, having on one side an enormous fire-place, and containing seven 
doors, but only one window. Here Washington received his friends ; here 
large companies dined ; and here, from time to time, some of the most 
distinguished characters of the revolution, civil and military, were 
assembled. Colonel Nicholas Fish, of the Continental Army, used to 



200 



THE HUDSON. 



relate an interesting fact connected -with this room. He was in Paris a 
short time before the death of the Marquis de Lafayette, who had lodged 
many nights beneath the roof of the " Hasbrouck House." Colonel Fish 
was invited, with the American minister, on one occasion, to sup at the 
house of the distinguished Marbois, who was the French Secretary of 
Legation in the United States during the revolution. Lafayette was one 
of the guests. At the supper hour the company was shown into a room 
which contrasted quite oddly with the Parisian elegance of the other 
apaitments, where they had spent the evening. A low, boarded, painted 




IXTEBIOR 01" WASHINCfTOX'S HEAD-QUARTERS. 



ceiling, with large beam?, a single small, uncurtained window, witli 
numerous small door?, as well as the general style of the whole, gave, at 
first, the idea of the kitchen, or largest room, of a Dutch or Belgian farm- 
house. On a long rough table was a repast, just as little in keeping with 
the refined cuisines of Paris, as the room was with its architecture. It 
consisted of a large dish of meat, uncouth-looking pastry, and wine in 
decanters and bottles, accompanied by glasses and silver mugs, such as 
indicated other habits and tastes than those of modern Paris. " Do you 
know where we now are ? " said Marbois to Lafayette and his American 



THE HUDSON. 



201 



companions. They paused in surprise for a few minutes. They had seen 
something like it before, but when ? and where ? " Ah ! the seven doors 
and one window," exclaimed Lafayette, *'and the silver camp-goblets, 
such as the Marshals of France used in my youth ! "We are at "Washington's 
Head-quarters, on the Hudson, fifty years ago ! " 

Upon the lawn, a little eastward of the Head-quarters, is a tall flag- 
staff, and near it a chaste monument, in the form of a mausoleum, made 
of brown sandstone, and erected early in the summer of 1860, over the 
grave of the latest survivor of "Washin "ton's life-guard. The monument 




Lirii,-(jL AKU MOM MEM 



was dedicated on the 18th of June, with appropriate services in connection 
with a large civic and military parade. It is about six feet in height, 
and is surmounted by a large recumbent wreath. On the river-front are 
the words : — " The last of the Life Guards. Uzal KNArr, born, 1759; 
DIED, 1856. Monmouth, Yallet Porge, Yorktown." On the opposite 
side: — "Erected by the Newburgh Guards, Comrany P., 19th Regiment, 
jST. Y. S. M., June, 1860." It is surrounded by a chain supported by granite 
posts, and is flanked by two pieces of heavy cannon. The monument was 
designed by H. K. Brown, the sculptor. 

r> D 



203 



THE HUDSON. 



Mr. Knapp, the recipient of these honours, was, for a long time, the 
only 'surviving [member of the body-guard of AVashington, which was 
organised at Boston in the spring of 1776, and continued throughout the 
war. They were selected from all the regiments of the Continental Army, 
and chosen for their peculiar fitness of person and moral character. Mr. 
Knapp was a sergeant of the Guard, and was presented by Washington 
with a badge of Military Merit — the American Legion of Honour. In the 
autumn of 1855, the writer was at a public dinner where the old guardsman 
was a guest. He was then almost ninety-six years of age. When he was 




KinviiUEGH BAV. 



about to leave the table, the compiany arose. The veteran addressed a few 
words to them, and concluded by inviting them all to his funeral ! Just 
four months afterwards he died, and many who were at the feast were at 
the burial. By permission of his family, the citizens of Nowburgh, after 
his body had lain in state for three days, buried him at the foot of tlie 
flag-staflP, near the old head-quarters of his chief, wlierc lie had watched 
and sported three-quarters of a century before. It -^-as over that grave 
the monument we have delineated was recently erected. 

The natural scenery around Newburgh has an aspect of mingled 



THE HUDSON. 



203 



grandeur and beauty, peculiar and unrivalled. Before the town is tlic 
lofty range of the Pishkill Mountains, on which signal fires were lighted 
during the revolution ; and the group of the Highlands, through which 
the Hudson flows. These are reflected in a broad and beautiful bay, at 
all times animated with a variety of water-craft and wild-fowl. Even in 
winter, when the frost has bridged the entire river, Newburgh Bay 
presents a lively scene almost every day, for ice-boats and skaters are 
there in great abundance. Its broad surface is broken by only a solitary 
rock island. One of the finest and most comprehensive views of Newburgh 




nSHKILL LAXDIKtt AND NE^VBUEGH. 



Bay may be obtained from the hill, just below the Fishkill and Newburgh 
railway-station, looking south-west. This view is given in our sketch. 
It includes the lower part of Newburgh, the mouth of the Quassaic Creek, 
the villages of New Windsor, and Cornwall, the beautiful low peninsula 
called Denning' s Point on the left, and the higher one of Plum Point, on 
the western shore, seen in the centre. Just beyond the latter is the 
mouth of the Moodna, a fine clear stream that comes down from the hill- 
country of Orange County. The view is bounded on the left by the lofty 



204 



THE HUDSON. 



hills extending westward from the Storm King, at whose base the Hudson 
enters the Highlands. 

At Newburgh is the eastern terminus of a branch of the New York and 
Erie Railway, which passes through some of the most picturesque scenery 
in the world, between the Hudson and Delaware rivers. In the vicinity 
of the village are charming drives, but no one is more attractive towards 
evening, than that along the river-bank, through New Windsor to 








IDLEAVILl) FROM THE BROOK 



Idlewild, the residence of the well-known author, N. P. Willis, Esq. I 
travelled that road on a hot afternoon in August. The shadows were 
short ; a soft breeze came up the river from the open northern door of the 
Highlands, whose rugged forms were bathed in golden light. On the 
land not a leaf was stirred by a zephyr. I crossed the Moodna, in 
whose shallow waters the cattle were seeking cool retreats, and I was 
glad to take shelter from the hot sun in the shadows of the old trees on 



THE HUDSON. 



205 



the margin of the brook that rushes from the Glen at Itllewild. There all 
was cool, quiet, and delightful. The merry laugh of children came 
ringing like the tones of silver bells through the open grove. I sat down 




IN TUE GLEX AT IDLEWILD. 



upon the bank of the brook, to enjoy the sweet repose of the scene, when, 
looking up, the cottage of Idlewild, half concealed by evergreens, stood in 
full view on the brow of the glen, two hundred feet above me. The whole 



206 THE HUDSON. 



acclivity is covered with the primeval ■wood, which presents an apparently 
impenetrable barrier to approach from below. 

After sketching the attractive scene, I went leisurely up the deep, cool, 
dark glen, to its narrowest point, where the brook occupies the whole 
bottom of the gorge, and flows in picturesque rapids and cascades over 
andj among rugged rocks and overhanging trees and shrubbery, with a 
rustic foot-bridge, the solitary testimony that man had ever penetrated 
that wild retreat. 

A winding pathway lead from the slender bridge in the glen up to the 
cottage of Idlewild, which is at the north-eastern angle of the Highland 
Terrace, on which the village of Cornwall stands. The views from it are 
exceedingly beautiful. From the southern porch a lawn rises gently, 
beyond which nothing can be seen but the purple sides and summit of the 
Storm King, rising nearly 1,600 feet above the river. A little way from 
the cottage, a full view of Newburgh Bay and the river and country 
above may be obtained ; and on the left, the placid estuary into which the 
Moodna-'' flows, reflects all the glories of sunset. 

The Highland Terrace owes its name and fame to Mr. AVillis, whose pen 
has been as potent as the wand of a magician in peopling that delightful 
spot with summer residents from New York. He has thoroughly 
" written it up," It is a fertile strip of land, quite elevated, lying at the 
foot of the north-western slopes of the mountains. The grape io culti- 
vated there with success ; and as its banks yield some of the finest brick- 
clay in the country, it has become a celebrated brick-making place. 
Cornwall Landing is at the base of the Terrace near the foot of the Storm 
King, and is reached from the plateau by a steep, winding road. During 
the summer months it exhibits gay scenes at the hours when the steam- 
boats arrive. Many of the temporary residents of that vicinity have their 
own carriages, and these, filled with pleasure-seeking people, expecting 



* This was called Mm-derer's Creek, becatlse, in early tiillcs, a family of white people, who lived 
upon its banks, was murdered by the Indians. Mr. Willis, with a laudable desiit? to get rid of a name 
so unpleasaht, sought reasons for establishing the belief that it is a corruption of the sweet Indian word 
Moodiia. He has been successful, and the stream is now generally called Moodna's Creek. Such is 
also the name of the post-office there, established by the government. It is to be hoped that the old 
name will be speedily forgotten. 



THE HUDSON. 



207 



to meet friends, or only hoping to see new faces, quite cover tlie wharf at 
times, especially at evening. 

From the Cornwall Landing an interesting view of the upper entrance 
to the Highlands, between the Storm King and Breakneck Hill, may be 
obtained. In our sketch, the former is seen on the right, the latter on 
the left. The river is here deep and narrow. The rocky shores, composed 
principally of granite and gneiss, embedding loose nodules and fixed veins 




UPPER ENTRANCE TO THE HIGIILANDg. 



of magnetic iron oi'c, rise from 1,000 to almost 1,600 feet above the river, 
and are scantily clothed with stunted trees. The range extends in a 
north-eastern and south-western direction across the Hudson, in the 
counties of Duchess and Putnam, Orange and Rockland, and connects 
with the Alleghauies. Geologists say that it is unequivocally a primitive 
chain, and in the early ages of the world must have opposed a barrier to 
the passage of the waters, and caused a vast lake which covered the 



208 THE HUDSON. 



present Valley of the Hudson, extending- to, if not over. Lake Champlain, 
eastward to the Taghkanick Mountain, in Columbia County, and the 
Highlands along the 'western borders of Massachusetts, and westward to 
the Kayaderosseras Mountain, near Lake George, alluded to in our 
description of the Upper Hudson. Such, they say, must have been in 
former ages the " Ancient Lake of the Upper Valley of the Hudson," 
indicated by the levels and surveys of the present day, and by an 
examination of the geological structure and alluvial formations of this 
valley. The Indians called the range eastward of the Hudson, including 
the Fishkill Mountains, Ilatteaivan, or the Country of Good Fur. They 
gave the same name to the stream that flows into the Hudson, on the 
south side of Dcnning's Point, which the Dutch called Vis Kill, or Fish 
Crock, and now known as the Fish Kill. 

Toward the evening of the same hot day in August (1860), when I 
rode from I^ewburgh to Idlewild and the Highland Terrace, I went in a 
skiff around to the shaded nooks of the western shore below the Storm 
King, and viewed the mountains in all their grandeur from their bases. 
The Storm King, seen from the middle of the river abreast its eastern 
centre, is almost semicircular in form, and gave to the minds of the 
utilitarian Dutch skippers who navigated the Hudson early, the idea of a 
huge lump of butter, and they named it Boter Berg, or Eutter Hill. It 
liad borne that name until recently, when Mr. "Willis successfully appealed 
to the good taste of the public by giving it the more appropriate and 
poetic title of Storm King. The appeal was met with a sensible response, 
and the directors of the Hudson Hiver Railway Company recognised its 
fitness by naming a station at Breakneck Hill (when will a better name 
for this be given?), opposite the Boter Berg, "Storm King Station." The 
features of the mountain have been somewhat changed. For many years 
past vast masses of stone have been quarried from its south-eastern face ; 
until now the scene from its foot has the appearance given in the sketch. 

Serrated Breakneck opposite lias also been much quarried, and through 
its narrow base, upon the brink of the river, a tunnel for the railway has 
been pierced. Several years ago a powder blast, made by the quarriers 
high up on the southern declivity of the mountain, destroyed an object 
interesting to voyagers upon the river. From abreast the Storm King a 



THE HUDSON. 



209 



huge mass of rock was seen projected against the eastern sky in the 
perfect form of a liuman face, the branches of a tree forming an excellent 
representation of thick curly beard upon the chin. It was called the 




AT run lOOT OF THE STOEM KINtf. 



Turk's Head. By many it was mistaken for "Anthony's IS'ose," the 
huge promontory so called at the southern entrance to the Highlands a 
few miles below. Its demolition caused many expressions of regret, for 

r. V. 



210 



THE HUDSON. 



it was regarded as a great curiosity, and an interesting feature in the 
Highland scenery on the river. 

Just below the Storm King, at the foot of a magnificent valley composed 
of wooded slopes that come down from the high hills two or three miles 
westward, is the cottage of Mr. Lamhertson, a resident of New York, 
who has chosen that isolated spot for a summer retreat. He has only one 
neighbour, who lives in another cottage beneath willow trees at the base 
of the Cro' Nest. This group of hills forms the southern boundary of 
their wild domain, and the Storm King the northern. In the slopes of 




THE "rOWELL" OFF THE STORM KINU VALLEV, 



the grand valley between these hills wild ravines arc furrowed, and form 
channels for clear mountain streams, and every rood of that wilderness of 
several hundred acres is covered with timber. When in full foliage in 
summer it has the appearance, in every light, of green velvet. I have 
seen it in the morning and at evening, at meridian and in the light of 
the full moon, and on all occasions it had the same soft aspect in contrast 
with the rugged forms of Cro' Nest and the Storm King. That valley is 
always a delightful object to the eye, and should be sought for by the 
tourist. The last time I passed it was at sunset. I was on the swift 



THE HUDSON. 



211 



steamer Thomas PoiceJl, and at that hour the deep green of the foreground 
was fading higher up into a mingled colour of olive and pink, and 
softening into delicate purple, while the rocky summit of the Storm Tung 
cast over the whole the reflected effulgence of a hrilliant evening sunlight. 
In this isolated spot among the mountains, Joseph Eodman Drake, whilst 
rambling alone many years ago, wrote con amore his beautiful poem. 




SCENE OFF THE STORM KING VALLEl', 



** The Culprit Fay," in which he thus summoned the fairies to a 
dance : — 

" Ouplie and goblin ! imp and sprite ! 

Elf of eve and starry fay ! 
Ye that love the moon's soft light, , 

Hither, hither, wend your way. 
Twine ye in a jocund ring ; 

Sing and trip it meri'ily ; 
Hand to hand, and wing to wing, 

Kound the wild witch-hazel tree." 

Whilst at the landing-place at Mr. Lambertson's, one of those black 



9 19 



THE HUDSON. 



electrical clouds, whicli frequently gather suddenly among the Highlands 
during the heats of July and August, came up from the west, obscured the 
sun, hovered upon the summit of the Storm King a few minutes, and then 
passed eastward, giving out only a few drops of rain where I stood, but 
casting down torrents in Newburgh Bay, accompanied by shafts of forked 
lightning aud heavy peals of thunder. There was a perfect calm while 
the darkness brooded. Not a vessel was in sight, and no living thing 
was visible, except the white sea-gulls, which seem to be always on the 




HIGHLAND EKTKAXCE TO XEWIU'KGH BAV. 



wing in the van or in the wake of a tempest. The shower passed cast- 
ward over the ]\Iattcawan Hills, when suddenly there appeared 



" That beawtiful one, 
Whose arcli is refraction, whose keystone tlie sun, 
In the hues of its yraudeur, sublimely it stood 
O'er the river, tlie village, the field, and the wood," 



and cast a beautiful radiance over the great hills of the Shattemuc,*' 



* Tlie Wappengi and Matteawan tribes called the Hudson Shattcmac, and the Highlands below the 
Matteawan, or Fishkill Mountains, the Hills of the Shattemuc. 



THE HUDSON. 213 



among which I stood, gazing upon a sublime scene with wonder and 
delight. 

After the shower had passed by, I rowed to the middle of the river, in 
the direction of Cold Spring village, on the eastern shore, and obtained a 
fine view of the Highland entrance to Newburgh 13ay. The evening sun 
was pouring a flood of light upon the scene. On the left, in shadow, 
stood the Storm King, on the right was rugged Breakneck, with its 
neighbour, round Little Beacon Hill, and between was Pollopell's Island, 
a solitary rocky eminence, rising from the river, a mile north of them. 
Beyond these were seen the expanse o'f Newburgh Bay, the village, the 
cultivated country beyond, and the dim pale blue peaks of the Katzbergs, 
almost sixty miles distant. This view is always admired by travellers as 
one of the most agreeable in the whole, village from New York to Albany. 

On a cool, bright morning in August, I climbed to the bald summit of 
the Storm King, accompanied by a few friends. We procured a competent 
guide at Cornwall landing, and ascended the nearest and steepest part, 
where a path was to be found. It was a rough and difficult one, made 
originally by those who gathered hoop-poles upon the mountains. It 
was gullied in some places, and filled with stones in others, because it 
serves for the bed of a mountain torrent during showers and storms. 
Nearly half-way up to the first summit we found a spring of delicious 
water, where we rested. Occasionally we obtained glimpses of the 
country westward, where the horizon was bounded by the level summits 
of the Shawangunk Mountains. 

We reached the first summit, after a fatiguing ascent of a mile and a 
half. It was not the highest, yet we had. a very extensive prospect of 
the country around, except on the east, which was hidden by the higher 
points of the mountain. At last the greatest altitude was reached, after 
making our way another mile over rocky ledges, and through gorges filled 
with shrub-oaks, and other bushes. There a glorious picture filled us 
with exquisite pleasure. "We felt amply rewarded for all our toil. The 
sky was cloudless, and the atmosphere perfectly clear. The sceneiy, in 
some features, was similar to, but in all others totally unlike, that of the 
Adirondack region. Looking northward, the river was seen in its 
slightly winding course to Crom Elbow, twenty-six miles distant, with 



214 



THE HUDSON. 



the intermediate villages along its banks. On each side of the river, and 
sloping back to high ranges of hills (the shores of the ancient lake already 
alluded to), was spread out one of the most fertile and wealthy regions on 
the continent. 

Our view included portions of seven counties in the State of JN'ew York, 
and of three in Connecticut, with numerous little inland villages. In 
the extreme north-west were the Katzbergs, and, in the north-east, the 




NOETHEEN VIEW PEOM THE STORM KING. 



Taghkanick range, with the hills of western Massachusetts and Con- 
necticut. Almost at our feet lay Cornwall, and a little beyond were 'New 
"Windsor and Canterbury, and the whole country back of Newburgh, 
made memorable by events of the war for independence. Before us lay 
the old camp-gTounds of the Continental Army, the spot where the 
patriotism of the officers was tried to the utmost in the spring of 1783, as 
already explained ; the quarters occupied by "Washington at New "Windsor 






THE HUDSON. 215 



and Newburgh ; of Lafayette, at the Square ; of Greene and Knox, at 
Morton's ; and of Steuben, at Yerplanck's. There was Plum Point and 
Pollopell's Island, between which a sort of cTievaiix-de-frise was constructed 
in 1776. Pollopell's Island lay beneath us. The solitary house of a fisher- 
man upon it appeared like a wren's cage in size, and the kingdom of his 
insane wife, who imagines herself to be the Queen of England, and her 
husband the Prince Consort, seemed not much larger than one of her 
spouse's drag-nets. If he is not a Prince Consort, he is the sole ruler of 
the little domain which he inhabits, and he may say, as did Selkirk — 

" I am monarch of all I survey, 

ily riy;ht there is nnue to dispute. 
From the centre all ronnd to the sea, 
I am lord of the iowl and the brute." 

The passing trains upon the Hudson Iliver llailway, and large 
steamers, and more than forty sail of vessels of all sizes, seen upon the 
river at the same time, appeared almost like toys for children. Yet small 
as they seemed, and diminutive as we must have appeared from below, 
signals with white handkerchiefs, given by some of our party, brought 
responses in kind from the windows of the railway cars. 

The view southward from the summit of the Storm King is not so 
extensive as northward and westward, but includes an exceedingly 
interesting region. In the distance, on the south-east, beyond the range 
of wooded hills that bound the view from less elevated emiaences of the 
Highlands, the fine cultivated hill country of Putnam County was seen. 
Anthony's K'osc, Bear Mountain, and the Dunderberg, at their southern 
entrance, were too high to permit glimpses of Westchester and Pockland 
counties below. These may be seen from the Great Beacon Hill of the 
Fishkill range, on the opposite side of the river. With a good telescope 
the city of New York may also be seen. But within the range of our 
unaided vision, lay fields of action, the events of which occupy large 
spaces in history. There was Philipsburg, where the Continental Army 
was encamped, and almost every soldier was inoculated with the kine-pox, 
to shield him from the ravages of the small-pox. The camp, for a while, 
became a vast lazar-house. There was Constitution Island, clustered with 
associations connected with the fall of Ports Clinton and Montgomery, 



216 



THE HUDSON. 



and the Great Chaiu, which wo shall presently consider ; and beyond, 
amono- the shadows of old trees at the foot of the Sugar-Loaf Mountain, 
was seen the house occupied as head-quarters by Arnold, from which he 
escaped to the Vulture sloop-of-war, when his treason was discovered. 
Only a small portion of AVest Point could be seen, for the Cro' Nest group 
loomed up between; but over these, more westward, the landscape 
included the entire range of higher hills away toward Chester, the Clove, 




;^^i^'r 



SOI iiimN ^I^^\ ] rom jut siokm kinc 



and the Eaniapo Pass, with the solid-looking mass of the Shunnemunk 
beyond Canterbury. 

It was after meridian when we had finished our observations from the 
lofty head of the Storm King, and sat down to lunch in the broken 
shadows of a stunted pine-tree. We descended the mountain by the path 
that we went up, and at Cornwall took a skiff and rowed to West Point, 
making some sketches and observations by the way. When a little below 



THE HUDSON. 



217 



the Storm King Valley, we came to the high hluff known as Kidd's Plug 
Cliff, where the rocks rise almost perpendicularly several hundred feet 
from dehris near the water's edge, which is covered with shrubbery. 




KlDl) S FLUG CLIFF. 



High up on the smooth face of the rock, is a mass slightly projecting, 
estimated to be twelve feet in diameter, and by form and position 
suggesting, even to the dullest imagination, the idea of an enormous plug 



218 



THE HUDSON. 



stopping an orifice. The fancy of some one has given it the name of 
Captain Xicld's Plug, in deference to the common belief that that noted 
pirate buried immense sums of money and other treasures somewhere in 
the Highlands. Within a few years ignorant and credulous persons, 
misled by pretended seers in the clairvoyant condition, have dug in search 
of those treasures in several places near West Point ; and some, it is said, 
have been ignorant and credulous enough to believe that the almost 




CEOW'S NJ2ST. 



mythical buccaneer had, by some supernatural power, mounted these rocks 
to the point where the projection is seen, discovered there an excavation, 
deposited vast treasures within it, and secured them by inserting the 
enormous stone plug seen from the waters below. It is plainly visible 
from vessels passing near the western shore. 

Kidd's Plug Cliff is a part of the group of hills which form Cro' Nest 
(the abbreviation of Crow's Nest), a name given to a huge hollow among 



J 



THE HUDSON. 219 



the summits of these hills. They are rocky heights, covered -with trees 
and shrubbery, and, by their grouping, seen from particular points of view, 
suggest the idea of an enormous crow's nest. By some the signal high 
summit above the Plug Cliff is called Cro' Nest ; and it is in allusion to 
that lofty hill that Morris, its "neighbour over the way," wrote — 

" Where Hudson's waves o'er silvery sands 
Winds through tlie liills afar, 
And Cro' Nest lilic a monarch stands, 
Crowned with a single star." 




CHAPTER XII. 

^"^^^S "wc passed the foot of Cro' Nest, wo caught pleasant 
^V\h} glimpses of West Point, where the government of 
the United States has a military school, and in a 
few moments the whole outline of the promontory 
and the grand ranges of hills around and beyond it, 
was in full vicAV. "\Ye landed in a sheltered cove a 
little above Camp Town, the station of United 
States troops and other residents at the Point, and climbed a very steep 
hill to the Cemetery upon its broad and level summit, more than a 
liundred feet above the river. It is a shaded, quiet, beautiful retreat, 
consecrated to the repose of the dead, and having thoughtful visitors at 
all hours on pleasant days. 

" There, side bj' side, tlie dark green cedars cluster, 
Like sentries watching b}' that camp of deatli ; 
Tliere, like an armj-'s tents, with snow-white lustre. 
The grave-stones gleam beneath. 

" Few are the graves, for here no populous city , 

Feeds, with its mj'riad lives, the hungry Fate ; 
While hourly funerals, led b)' grief or pity, 
Crowd through the open gate. 

"Here sleep brave men, who, in the deadly quarrel. 
Fought for their country, and their life-blood poured ; 
Above whose dust she carves tlie deathless laurel, 
Wreathing the victor's sword. 

" And here the young cadet, in manly beauty. 

Borne from the tents which skirt those rocky banks, 
Called from life's dailj- drill and perilous duty 
To these xmbroken ranks " 

The most conspicuous object in the Cemetery is the Cadet's Monument, 
situated at the eastern angle. It is a short column, of castle form, 
composed of light brown liewn stone, surmounted by military emblems 



THE HUDSON. 



221 



and a foliated memorial urn, wrought from the same material. It was 
erected in the autumn of 1818, to the memory of Vincent M. Lowe, of 
New York, by his brother cadets. He was accidentally killed by the 
discharge of a cannon, on the 1st of January, 1817. The names of several 
other officers and cadets are inscribed upon the monument, it having been 
adopted by the members of the institution as " sacred to the memory of 
the deceased " whose names are there recorded. 




'i^-'xi^'. ' 



CADET S MONUMENT. 



From the brow of the hill, near the Cadet's Monument, is a compre- 
hensive view of the picturesque village of Cold Spring, on the east side of 
the river, occupying a spacious alluvial slope, bounded by rugged heights 
on the north, and connected, behind a range of quite lofty mountains, with 
the fertile valleys of Duchess and Putnam Counties. We shall visit it 



222 



THE HUDSON. 



presently. Meanwhile let us turn our eyes southward, and from another 
point on the margin of the Cemetery, where a lovely shaded walk invites 
tlie strollers on warm afternoons, survey Camp Town at our feet, with 
"West Point and the adjacent hills. In this view we see the Old Landing- 
place, the road up to the plateau, the Laboratory buildings, the Siege 
Battery, the Hotel, near the remains of old Fort Clinton, upon the highest 
ground on the plain, the blue dome of the Chapel, the turrets of the great 




COLD SPBIKG, FHOM THE CKMETEEY. 



Mess Hall, on the extreme right, the Cove, crossed by the Hudson lliver 
Ilailway, and the range of hills on the eastern side of the river. 

Following this walk to the entrance gate, we traverse a delightful 
winding road along the river-bank, picturesque at every turn, to the 
parting of the ways. One of these leads to the Point, the other up Mount 
Independence, on whose summit repose the grey old ruins of Port Putnam. 
"We had ascended that winding mountain road many times before, and 
listened to the echoes of the sweet bugle, or the deeper voices of the 
morning and evening gun at the Point. Now we were invited by a 
shady path, and a desire for novelty, from the road between Forts Webb 
and Putnam, into the deep rocky gorge between Mount Independence and 



THE HUDSON. 



223 



the more lofty Redoubt Hill, to tlie rear of the old fortress, where it wears 
the appearance of a ruined castle upon a mountain crag. The afternoon 
sun was falling full upon the mouldering ruin, and the chaotic mass of rocks 
beneath it; while the clear blue sky and white clouds presented the 
whole group, with accompanying evergreens, in the boldest relief. 
Making our way back, by another but more difficult path, along the foot 
of the steep acclivity, we soon stood upon the broken walls of Port 
Putnam, 500 feet above the river, with a scene before us of unsurpassed 
interest and beauty, viewed in the soft light of the evening sun. At our 




^\EyT POINT, FEOx-VI TUE CEMETERY. 



feet lay tlie promontory of West Point, with its Military Academy, the 
quarters of the officers and the cadets, and other buildings of the 
institution. To the left lay Constitution Island, from a point of which, 
where a ruined wall now stands, to the opposite shore of the main, a 
massive iron chain was laid upon floating timbers by the Americans, at 
the middle of the old war for independence. Beyond the island arose the 
smoke of the furnaces and forges, the spires, and the roofs of Cold Spring. 
Toward the left loomed up the lofty Mount Taurus, vulgarly called Pull 
Hill, at whose base, in the shadow of a towering wall of rock, and in the 



224 



THE HUDSON. 



midst of grand old trees, nestles Under Cliff, then the home of Morris, 
whose songs have delighted thousandei in both hemispheres. On the 
extreme left arose old Cro' Nest; and over its right shoulder lay the 
rugged range of Break Neck, dipping to the river suflBciently to reveal the 
beautiful country beyond, on the borders of Newburgh Bay. This is. one 
of the most attractive points of view on the Hudson. 




FORT PUTNAM, FROM HIE IVEST. 



Fort Putnam was erected by the Americans in 1778, for the purpose of 
defending Fort Clinton, on West Point below, and to more thoroughly 
secure the river against the passage of liostilo fleets. It was built under 
the direction of Colonel Eufus Putnam, and chiefly by the men of his 
Massachusett's regiment. It commanded the river above and below the 
Point, and was almost impregnable, owing to its position. In front, the 



i 



THE HUDSON. 



225 



mountain is quite steep for many yards, and then slopes gently to the 
plain ; while on its western side, a perpendicular wall of rock, fifty feet 
in height, would have been presented to the enemy. Eedoubts were also 
built upon other eminences in the Yicinity. Those being chiefly earth 
works, have been almost obliterated by the action of storms ; and Fort 
Putnam was speedily disappearing under the hands of industrious 
neighbours, who were carrying off the stone for building purposes, when 





VIEW TBOM FOKT PUTNAM. 



the work of demolition was arrested by the Government. Its remains, 
consisting of only broken walls and two or three arched casemates, all 
overgrown with vines and shrubbery, are now carefully preserved. Even 
the cool spring that bubbles from the rocks in its centre, is kept clear of 
choking leaves ; and we may reasonably hope that the ruins of Fort 
Putnam will remain, an object of interest to the passing traveller, for more 
than a century to come. 

G G 



226 



THE HUDSON. 



The -winding road from the fort to the plain is quite steep much of the 
way, hut is so well wrought that carriages may safely traverse it ; and the 
tourist is led by it to one of the loveliest of river and mountain views 
northward from the Point, in front of the residences of Mr. Weir, the 
eminent artist, and other professors employed in the Military Academy. 
Passing along the shaded walk in front of these mansions, on the margin 
of a high bank, a white marble obelisk is seen upon a grassy knoll on the 
left, shooting up from a cluster of dark evergreen trees. It was erected 
by Major-General Jacob Brown, of the United States army, in memory of 




LIEUTEXANT-COLONEL "WOOD'S MOJJVMENT. 

his youthful and vvell beloved conipaniou-in-arras, Lieutcnant-Colonel E. 
D. "Wood, of the corps of Engineers, who fell while heading a charge, at 
the sortie of Fort Erie, in Upper Canada, on the 17th of September, 1814. 
He had been a pupil of the Military Academy at AVest Poiut. "He 
was," says one of the inscriptions, "exemplary as a Christian, and 
distinguished as a soldier." 

Passing a little farther on, a gravelled walk diverges riverward, and 
leads down to the Siege Battery of six guns, erected by the cadets while 
in the performance of their practical exercises in engineering. The 



THE HUDSON. 



007 



cannon were housed, and.no gunners were near, yet the works appeared 
formidable. They were composed of gabions, covered with turf, soft and 
even as fine velvet. The battery commands one of the most pleasing views 
from the Point, comprising Constitution Island, Mount Taurus, and Break 
Neck on the right ; Cro' Nest and the Storm King on the left ; and ten 
miles of the river, with Pollopell's Island and the shores above Newburgh 
in the centre. A similar view is obtained from the piazza of Roe's Hotel, 
on the brow of the hill just above. 

A little westward of the Siege Battery are the buildings of the 




VIEW FROM THE SIEGE BATTERY. 



Laboratory of the institution, in which are deposited some interesting 
relics of the old war for independence. One of the most attractive gi-oups 
among these relics was composed of several links of the great iron chain, 
already mentioned, that spanned the river, enclosing a large brass mortar, 
taken from the British at Stoncy Point, by AYayne, and two smaller ones, 
that were among the spoils of victory at Saratoga. There were a dozen 
links of the chain, and two huge clevises. The links were made of iron 
bars, 2J inches square. Their average length was a little over 2 feet, 
and their weight about 140 pounds each. The chain was stretched across 



09« 



THE HUDSON. 



the river at the narrowest place, just above Gee's Point (the extreme 
rocky end of West Point) and Constitution Island. It was laid across a 
boom of heavy logs, that floated near together. These were 1 6 feet long, 
and pointed at each end, so as to off'er little resistance to the tidal currents. 
The chain was fastened to these logs by staples, and at each shore by huge 
blocks of wood and stone. This chain and boom seemed to aff'ord an 
efficient barrier to the passage of vessels ; but their strength was never 
tested, as the keel of an enemy's ship never ploughed the Hudson after 




THE GKEAT CSAlt.. 



the fleet of Vaughan passed up and down in the autumn of 1777, and 
performed its destructive mission. 

The views from Roe's Hotel, on the extreme northern verge of the 
summit of the plain of West Point, are very pleasing in almost every 
direction. The one northward, similar to that from the Siege Battery, is 
the finest. "Westward the eye takes in the Laboratory, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Wood's Monument, a part of the shaded walk along the northern 
margin of the plain, and Mount Independence, crowned with the ruins of 
Fort Putnam. Southward the view comprehends the entire Parade, and 
glimpses, through the trees, of the Academy, the Chapel, the Mess Hall, 



THE HUDSON. 



229 



and other buildings of the institution, with some of the officers' quarters 
and professors' residences on the extreme right. The earthworks of Fort 
Clinton have recently been restored, in their original form and general 
proportions, exactly upon their ancient site, and present, with the 
beautiful trees growing within their green banks, a very pleasant object 
from every point of view. The old fort was constructed in the spring 
of 1778, under the direction of the brave Polish soldier, Thaddeus 
Kosciuszko, who was then a colonel in the Continental Army, and chief 




Wi.STKEN Vll'.W, lEO-M liOJi S HOlliL. 



of the Engineers' corps. The fort, when completed, was 600 yards 
around, within the walls. The embankments were 21 feet at the base, 
and 14 feet in height. Barracks and huts sufficient to accommodate six 
hundred persons were erected within the fort. It stood upon a cliff, on 
the margin of the plain, 180 feet above the river. 

Kosciuszko was much beloved by the Eevolutionary Army, and his 
memory is held in reverence by the American people. He was only 
twenty years of age when he joined that army. He had been educated 
at the Military School of Warsaw. He had not completed his studies. 



230 



THE HUDSON. 



when he eloped with a beautiful girl of high rank. They were overtaken 
by the maiden's father, who made a violent attempt to seize his daughter. 
The young Pole was compelled either to slay the father or abandon 
the daughter. He chose the latter, and obtaining the permission of his 
sovereign, he went to France, and there became a student in drawing 
and military science. In Paris he was introduced to Dr. Pranklin, and, 
fired with a desire to aid a people fighting for independence, he sailed for 
America, bearing letters from that minister. He applied to Washington 




illh 1 VI! U t 



for employment. "What do you seek here?" asked the leader of the 
armies of the revolted colonies. "I come to fight as a volunteer for 
American independence," the young Pole replied. " What can you do?" 
Washington asked. " Try me," was Kosciuszko's prompt reply. Pleased 
with the young man, Washington took him into his military family. 
The Congress soon afterwards appointed him engineer, with the rank of 
colonel. He returned to Poland at the close of the llevolution, and was 
made a major-general under Poniatowski. He was at the head of the 
military movements of the Revolution in Poland, in 1794, and was made 



THE HUDSON. 



231 



a prisoner, and carried to St. Petersburg, This event caused Campbell 
to write — 

" Hope for a season bade the earth farewell, 
And freedom slmeked when Kosciuszko fell." 

After the Empress Catherine died, the Emperor Paul liberated him, 
offered him command in the Russian service, and presented him with his 








KOSCIl'SZKuS MONUMENT. 



own sword. He declined it, saying, " T no longer need a sword, since I 
have no longer a country to defend." He revisited the United States in 
1797, when the Congress granted him land in consideration of his services. 
He afterwards lived in Switzerland, and there he died in 1817. A 
public funeral was made for him at "Warsaw. Twelve years afterwards, 
the cadets of "West Point, actuated by love for the man and reverence for 



232 



THE HUDSON. 



his deeds, erected a beautiful marble monument to bis memory, within the 
ruins of Old Port Clinton, at a cost of about |5,000. It bears upon one 
side the name of — " Kosciuszko," and on another, the simple inscription 
— "Erected by the Coups of Cadets, 1828." It is a conspicuous and 
pleasing object to voyagers upon the river. 

Passing along the verge of the cliff, southward from Kosciuszko's 
monument, the visitor soon reaches another memorial stone. It is of 
white marble, the chief member being a fluted column, entwined by a 
laurel wreath, held in the beak of an eagle, perched upon its top. The 




^^f^^mt^:^ 



DVDE& COMMVMjj ^NIONUMLM. 



pedestal is of temple form, square, with a row of encircling stars ixpon its 
entablature, and a cannon, like a supporting column, at each corner. It 
was erected to commemorate a battle fought between a detachment of 
United States troops, under Major Prancis L. Dade, and a party of 
Seminole Indians, in the Everglades of Plorida, on the 28tli of December, 
1835. The detachment consisted of one hundred and eight men, all of 
whom, save three, were massacred by the savages on that occasion. The 
troops nobly defended themselves, and made no attempt to retreat. 
Their remains repose near St. Augustine, in Plorida. This monument 



THE HUDSON. 



233 



was erected by the three regiments and the medical staff, from which the 
detachment was selected. 

A few feet from Lade's Command's Monument, a narrow path, through 
a rocky passage, overhung with boughs and shrubbery, leads down to a 
pleasant terrace in the steep bank of tlic river, which is called Kosciuszko's 
Garden. At the back of the terrace the I'ock rises perpendicularly, and 




kosciuszko's gaeden. 



from its outer edge descends as perpendicularly to the river. This is said 
to have been Kosciuszko's favourite place of resort for reading and 
meditation, while he was at West Point. He found a living spring 
bubbling from the rocks, in the middle of the terrace, and there he 
constructed a pretty little fountain. Its ruins were discovered in 1802, 
and repaired. The water now rises into a marble basin. Seats have 

ir ir 



234 



THE HUDSON. 



been provided for visitors, ornamental shrubs have been planted, and the 
whole place wears an aspect of mingled romance and beauty. A deep 
circular indentation in the rock back of the fountain was made, tradition 
affirms, by a cannon-ball sent from a British ship, while the Polish 
soldier was occupying his accustomed loitering place, reading Vauban, 
and regaled by the perfume of roses. From this quiet, solitary retreat, a 
pathway, appropriately called Flirtation "Walk, leads up to the plain, 

A short distance from Koscinszko's Garden, upon a higher terrace, is 
Battery Knox, constructed by the cadets. It commands a fine view of 





VIEW FEOJI BATTERY KNOX. 



the eastern shore of the Hudson, in the Highlands, and down the river 
to Anthony's Nose. Near by are seen the Cavalry Stables and the 
Cavalry Exercise Hall, belonging to the Military School ; and below 
there is seen the modern "West Point Landing. A little higher up, on 
the plain, are the groups of spacious edifices, used for the purposes of the 
institution. 

West Point was indicated by "Washington, as early as 1783, as an 
eligible place for a military academy. In his message to the Congress in 



"t 



THE HUDSON. 235 



1793, he recommended the establishment of one at West Point. The 
subject rested until 1802, when Congress made provision by law for such 
an institution there. Very little progress was made in the matter until 
the year 1812, when, by another act of Congress, a corps of engineers 
and professors were organised, and the school was endowed with the most 
attractive features of a literary institution, mingled with that of a 
military character. From that time until the present, the academy has 
been increasing in importance, as the nursery of army officers and skilful 
practical engineers. 

The buildings of the West Point Military Academy consisted, at the 
time we are considering, of cadets' barracks, cadets' guard-house, 
academy, mess hall, hospital of cadets, chapel, observatory, and library, 
artillery laboratory, hospital for troops, equipments shed, engineer troops' 
barracks, post guard-house, dragoons' barracks, artillery barracks, cavalry 
exercise hall, cavalry stables, powder magazine, the quarters of the 
officers and professors of the Academy, workshops, commissary of cadets 
and sutlers' store, shops and cottages for the accommodation of non- 
commissioned officers and their families, laundresses of the cadets, &c. 
The principal edifices are built of granite. 

The post is under the general command of a superintendent, who bears 
the rank of brevet-colonel. The average number of cadets was about two 
hundred and fifty. Candidates for admission are selected by the War 
Department at Washington city, and they are requii'cd to report 
themselves for examination to the superintendent of the academy between 
the first and twentieth day of June. 'None are admitted who are less 
than sixteen or more than twenty-one years of age, who are less than five 
feet in height, or who are deformed or otherwise unfit for military duty. 
Each cadet, on admission, is obliged to subscribe his name to an agreement 
to serve in the army of the United States four years, in addition to his 
four years of instruction, unless sooner discharged by competent 
authority. 

The course of instruction consists of infantry tactics and military 
pblicy, mathematics, the Prench language, natural i^hilosophy, drawing, 
chemistry, mineralogy, artillery tactics, the science of gunnery and the 
duties of a military laboratory, engineering and the science of war. 



236 



THE HUDSON. 



geography, history and ethics, the use of the sword, and cavalry exercise 
and tactics. The rules and regulations of the academy are very strict and 
salutary, and the instruction in all departments is thorough and complete. 
The road from the plain to the landing at West Point was cut from the 
steep rocky bank of the river, at a heavy expense to the government. 
The wharf is spacious, and there a sentinel was continually posted, with 
a slate and pencil, to record the names of all persons who arrive and 
depart. This was for the use of the Superintendent, by which means he 




XilE Bi,\EltLV UOLSK. 



is informed daily of the arrival of any persons to whom he might wish to 
extend personal or professional courtesies. 

A steam ferry-boat connects "West Point with the Garrison Station of 
the Hudson Eiver Railway, opposite. Near the latter is the old ferry- 
place of the Eevoliition, where troops crossed to and from West Point. 
Here Washington crossed on the morning when General Arnold's treason 



THE HUDSON. 237 



was discovered, and here he held a most anxious consultation \vith 
Colonel Hamilton when that event was suspected. 

We crossed the ferry to Garrison's, and from the road near the station 
obtained a pleasant view of "West Point, glimpses of the principal 
buildings there, and the range of lofty hills beyond, which form the 
group of the Cro' Nest and the Storm King. Following a winding road 
up the east bank of the river from this point, wo came to a mill, almost 
hidden among the trees at the head of a dark ravine, through which flows 
a clear mountain stream, called Kedron Brook, wherefore, I could not 
learn, for there is no resemblance to Jerusalem or the "Valley of Jeho- 
shaphat near. It is a portion of the beautiful estate of Ardenia, the 
property of Richard Arden, Esq. His son. Lieutenant Thomas Arden, a 
graduate of the West Point Military Academy, owns and occupies Beverly, 
near by, the former residence of Colonel Beverly Eobinson (an eminent 
American loyalist during the war for independence), and the head-quarters 
of General Benedict Arnold at the time of his treason. It is situated 
upon a broad and fertile terrace, at the foot of Sugar-Loaf Mountain, one 
of the eastern ranges of tlie Highlands, Avhich rises eight hundred feet 
above the plain. 




CHAPTER XIII. 

ft3T was mid-autumn wlieu we visited Beverly House, and the 
Sugar-Loaf Mountain, at the foot of which it stands, 
exhibited those gorgeous hues which give such unequalled 
splendour to American forests at that season of the year. 
The beautiful hues of the foliage of the maple, hickory, 
chestnut, birch, sassafras, and several other kinds of 
deciduous trees in the Northern and Middle States, seen just 
before the falling of the leaf in autumn, are almost unknown 
in Europe. A picture by Cropsey, one of the most eminent 
of living American landscape painters, in which this pecu- 
liarity of foliage was represented, drew from one of the minor English 
poets the following sonnet: — 

CKOPSEY'S "AUTUMN ON THE HUDSON." 

[Addressed to J. T. Field, of Boston.] 

Forgot are Summer and our English air ; 

Here is your Autumn with her wondrous dyes ; 

.Silent and vast your forests round us rise : 

God, glorified in Nature, fronts us there, 

In His transcendent works as heavenly fair 

As when they first seemed good unto His eyes. 

See, what a brightness on the canvas lies ! 

Hues, seen not here, flash on us everywhere ; 

Radiance that Nature here from us conceals ; 

Glory with which she heautifies decay 

In your far world, this master's hand reveals. 

Wafting our blest sight from dimmed streets away, — 

With what rare power !— to where our awed soul kneels 

To Him who bade these spleudom-s light the day. 

W. C. BeNiNETT. 



Erom the summit is a grand and extensive view of the surrounding 
scenery, which Dr. Dwight (afterwards President of Yale College) 
described, in 1778, as "majestic, solemn, wild, and melancholy." Dwight 
was then chaplain of a Connecticut regiment stationed at "West Point, 
and ascended the Sugar Loaf with the soldier-poet, Colonel Humphreys. 



THE HUDSON. 239 



Under the inspiration of feeling awakened by tlie grandeur of the sight, 
he conceived and partly composed his prophetic hymn, beginning with 
the words — 

"Columbia! Columbia! to glory arise, 
The queeu of the world and the child of the skies." 

General Arnold was at the mansion of Colonel Robinson (Beverly 
House) on the morning of the 24th of September, 1780, fully persuaded 
that his treasonable plans for surrendering "West Point and its dependencies 
into the hands of Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander-in-chief, — 
then in possession of New York, — for the consideration of a brigadier's 
commission in the British army, and £10,000 in gold, were working 
prosperously. This subject we shall consider more in detail hereafter. 
We will only notice, in this connection, events that occurred at the Beverly 
House. 

Major Andre, Arnold's immediate accomplice in treasonable designs, 
had, in a personal interview, arranged the details of the wicked bargain, 
and left for New York. Arnold believed he had arrived there in safety, 
with all requisite information for Sir Henry; and that before "Washington's 
return from Connecticut, whither he had gone to hold a conference with 
Rochambeau and other French officers, Clinton would have sailed up the 
Hudson and taken possession of the Highland fortresses. But Andi'c did 
not reach New York. He was captured on his way, by militia-men, as a 
suspicious-looking traveller. Evidences of his character as a spy were 
found upon his person, and he was detained. "Washington returned 
sooner than Arnold expected him. To the surprise of the traitor, 
Hamilton and Lafayette reached the Beverly House early on the morning 
of the 24th, and announced that Washington had turned down to the 
"West Point Eerry, and would be with them soon. At breakfast Arnold 
received a letter from an officer below, saying, ^^ Major Andre, of the 
British Army, is a 2}risoner in my custody P The traitor had reason to 
expect that evidences of his own guilt might arrive at any moment. He 
concealed his emotions. "With perfect coolness he ordered a horse to be 
made ready, alleging that his presence was needed "over the river" 
immediately. He then left the table, went into the great passage, and 
hurried up the broad staircase to his wife's chamber. In brief and hurried 



240 



THE HUDSON. 



words he told her that they must instantly part, perhaps for ever, for 
his life depended on his reaching the enemy's lines without detection. 
Horror-stricken, the poor young creature, but one year a mother, and not 
two a wife, swooned and sank senseless upon the floor. Arnold dare not 
call for assistance, but kissing, with lips blasted by words of guilt and 
treason, his boy, then sleeping in angel innocence and purity, he rushed 
from the room, mounted a horse, hastened to the river, flung himself into 
his barge, and directing the six oarsmen to row swiftly down the Hudson, 
escaped to the Vulture, a British sloop-of-war, lying far below. 




THE STAIECASE OF THE EOBINSOKS' HOVSE. 



"Washington arrived at the Beverly House soon after Arnold left it. As 
yet no suspicion of treason had entered his mind. After a hasty 
breakfast, he crossed to "West Point, expecting to find Arnold there. " I 
have heard nothing from him for two days," said Colonel Lamb, the 
commanding ofl&cer. "Washington's suspicions were awakened. He soon 
re-crossed the river, where he was met by Hamilton with papers just 
received revealing Arnold's guilt. He called in Knox and Lafayette for 
counsel. " Whom can we trust now ? " he inquired with calmness, while 



THE HUDSON. 



241 



deep sorrow evidently stirred his bosom. At the same time the condition 
of Mrs. Arnold, who was frantic with grief and apprehension, awakened 
his liveliest sympathies. "The general Avcut up to see her," wrote 




THE INDIAN FALLS. 



Hamilton in describing the scene. '* She upbi'aided him with being in a 
plot to murder her chiki, for she was quite beside herself. One moment 
she raved; another she melted into tears. Sometimes she pressed her 

T T 



040 



THE HUDSON, 



infant to her bosom, and lamented its fate, occasioned by the imprudence 
of its father, in a manner that would have moved insensibility itself." 
"Washington believed her innocent of all previous knowledge of her hus- 
band's guilt, and did all in his power to soothe her. " She is as good and 
innocent as an angel, and as incapable of doing wrong," Arnold wrote to 
"Washington, from the Vulture, imploring protection for his wife and 
child. Ample protection was afforded, and Mrs. Arnold and her infant 




VIEW SOUTH FROM DU 1I,H'?. 



were conveyed in safety to her friends. She was the traitor's second wife, 
and the daughter of Mr. Shippen, a loyalist of Philadelphia ; and she was 
only eighteen years of age at the time of her marriage to Arnold, while 
he was military governor of that city, in 1778. The child above- 
mentioned was named James Robertson Arnold. He entered the British 
army, and rose to the rank of Colonel of Engineers. He was at one time 
the aide-de-camp of her Majesty. In 1841 he was transferred from the 



THE HUDSON. 



243 



Engineers' corps, and in 1846 was a major-general and a Knight of the 
Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. 

Mr, Arden kindly took us in his carriage from Eeverly to Indian Brook, 
a clear mountain stream that makes its way in rapids and cascades, through 
a wild ravine, from the hills to the river. It falls into the deep marshy 
bay between Garrison's and Cold Spring. "We stopped on the way to 




INDIAN BROOK. 



view the river and mountains below West Point, from the residence of 
Eugene Dutihl, Esq. His mansion is upon a point of the plain, shaded 
by a grove of pines, overlooking a deep dark dell, with a sparkling brook 
in its bosom, on one side, and the river and grand mountain scenery on 
the other. The view southward from his piazza is one of the most 
interesting and beautiful (though not the most extensive) among the 



244 THE HUDSON. 



Highlands, comprehending the site of Forts Clinton and Montgomery — 
the theatre of stirring and most important events in the war for 
independence. From thence we passed along the brow of the declivity- 
next the river, to the mansion of Ardenia, from which one of the finest 
views of West Point may be obtained ; and then rode to Indian Brook, 
passing, on the way, the ancient Philipsburg Church — in which the officers 
of the Continental Army had worshipped during the Revolution — and the 
grounds and mansions of wealthy residents in that vicinity. 

We crossed Indian Brook on a rustic bridge, just below the Indian 
Falls, whose murmur fell upon the ear before we came in sight of the 
stream. These falls have formed subjects for painting and poetry, and 
are the delight of the neighbourhood in summer. In the small space 
allotted for each of our illustrations and accompanying descriptions, we 
can convey only faint ideas of the wild beauty of the scenes we are called 
upon to depict in this mountain region of the Hudson. "We were on the 
Indian Brook on a bright October day, when the foliage was in its 
greatest autumnal splendour, and the leaves were falling in gentle showers 
among the trees, the rocks, and in the sparkling water, appearing like 
fragments of rainbows cast, with lavish hand, into the lap of earth. At 
every turn of the brook, from its springs to its union with the Hudson, a 
pleasant subject for the painter's pencil is presented. Just below the 
bridge, where the highway crosses, is one of the most charming of these 
" bits." There, in the narrow ravine, over which the tree tops intertwine, 
huge rocks are piled, some of them covered with feathery fern, others 
with soft green mosses, and others as bare and angular as if just broken 
from some huge mass, and cast in there by Titan hands. In midsummer 
this stream is still more attractive, for there, as Street has sung of the 
Willewemoc, — 

" A fresh, damp sweetness fills the scene, 

From dripping leaf and moistened earth, 
The odour of the winter green 

Floats on the aii's that now have birth ; 
Plashes and air-bells all about 
Proclaim the gambols of the trout. 
And calling bush and answering tree 
Echo with woodland melody," 

In the neighbourhood of this mountain stream are delightful summer 



THE HUDSON. 



245 



residences, fitted for occupation all the year round. Among the most 
pleasing of these, in their relation to the surrounding scenery, are those 
of Dr. Moore, late President of Columhia College, and Mr. De Rham, a 
retired merchant. "We passed through their grounds on our way to Cold 
Spring village, and -wished for space, among our sketches of the Highland 
scenery, for pen and pencil pictures of charming spots upon these and the 
neighbouring estates. 

Our road to Cold Spring lay through the region occupied by portions of 




VlliW FRO^r rOSSlTER S MASSIO.' 



the American army at different times during the old war for independence. 
There, in the spring of 1781, the troops and others stationed there were 
inoculated with the small-pox. "All the soldiers, with the women and 
children," wrote Dr. Thacher, an army surgeon, "who have not had the 
small-pox, are now under inoculation." "Of five hundred who were 
inoculated here," he wrote subsequently, "only four have died." This 
was about fifteen years before .Tenner made successful experiments in 
vaccination. 

This portion of the Highlands is a charming region for the tourist on 



246 THE HUDSON. 



the Hudson ; and the lover of nature, in her aspects of romantic beauty 
and quiet majesty, should never pass it by. 

The first glimpse of Cold Spring village from the road is from the 
northern slope of an eminence thickly sprinkled with boulders, which 
commands a perfect view of the whole amphitheatre of hills, and the river 
winding among them. AVe turned into a rude gate on the left, and 
followed a newly-beaten track to the brow of this eminence, on the 
southern verge of which Kossiter, the eminent painter (a copy of whose 
picture of ' Washington at Mount Vernon ' was presented to the Prince of 
Wales at the National Capitol in 1860), is erecting an elegant villa. The 
house was nearly completed, but the grounds around were in a state of 
transition from the ruggedness of the wilderness to the mingled aspects of 
Art and Nature, formed by the direction of good taste. It is a delightful 
place for ah artist to reside, commanding one of the most extensive and 
picturesque views to be found in all that Highland region. The river is 
seen broken into lakes, in appearance ; and on all sides rise in majesty 
the everlasting hills. Only at one point — a magnificent vista between 
Mount Taurus and the Storm King — can the world without be seen. 
Through it a glimpse may be had of the beautiful country around 
Newburgh. 

Below us we could hear the deep breathing of furnaces, and the sullen, 
monotonous pulsations of trip-hammers, busily at work at the "West Point 
Foundry, the most extensive and complete of the iron-works of the United 
States. Following a steep, stony ravine that forms the bed of a water- 
course during rain-storms, we descended to these works, which lie at the 
head of a marshy cove, and at the mouth of a deep gorge, through which 
flows a clear mountain stream called Foundry Creek. We crossed the 
marsh upon a causeway, and from a rocky point of Constitution Island 
obtained a good panoramic view of the establishment. Returning to the 
foundry, we followed a pleasant pathway near the bay, into a large grove 
spared from the original forest, in which are situated the dwellings of a 
former and the present proprietors of the works. "^^ One of these, the 

* The West Point Foundry was established in 1817, by an association organized jr the chief purpose 
of manufacturin},' lieavyiron ordnance, under a contract witli the government. Thiit yet formed a large 
portion of its business in 1800. The works tlien consisted of a moulding house ; t gun foundry; three 



1 



THE HUDSON. 



247 



honourable Gouverneur Kemble, an intimate and life-long friend of Irving 
and Paulding, and a former proprietor, withdrew from active participation 
in the business of the establishment several years ago, and is now 
enjoying life there in elegant retirement, and dispensing a generous 
hospitality. He has a gallery of rare and excellent pictures, and a choice 
library; and is surrounded by evidences of refined taste and thorough 
cultivation. 

Leaving the residence of Mr. Kemble at twilight, we made our way 




WliSl' FOlM' iUL.Nl 



through the giove, and the village of Cold Spring beyond, to "Undercliff," 
the summer dwelling of America's best lyric poet, George P. Morris, who 



cupolas aiul three air furnaces ; two boriug mills ; three blacksmiths' shops ; a trip-hammer weighing 
eight tons for heavy wrought iron- work ; a turning shop ; a boiler shop ; and several other buildings used 
for various purposes. The quantity of iron then used varied with the nature and demand of work. Upwards 
of fifty tons of pig metal had been melted for a single casting. The annual eonsumption varied from 
5,000 t(5 10,000 tons, with about 1,000 tons of boiler-plate and wrought-iron. The number of hands then 
employed was about 500. Sometimes 700 men were at work there. The establishment is conducted by 
Robert P. Parrott, Esq., formerly a captain of Ordnance in tlie United States Army, and the inventor of 
the celebrated '• Parrott gun," so extensively used, as among the best of the heavy ordnance, during the 
late Civil War. These, with appropriate projectiles, were manufactured in great numbers at the West 
Point Foundry, during the war, from 1861 to 1865. 



248 



THE HUDSON. 



has since been numbered with the dead. Broad Morris Avenue leads to 
a spacious iron gate, which opens into the grounds around " TJndercliff." 
From this, through an avenue of stately trees, the house is approached. 
It is a substantial edifice of Doric simplicity in style, perfectly embowered 
when the trees are in full leaf, yet commanding, through vistas, some 
charming views of the river and the neighbouiing mountains. Northward, 
and near it, rises Mount Taurus, with its impending cliff that suggested 
the name of the poet's country seat. It is the old "Bull Hill" which, 
in Irving's exquisite story of " Dolph Heyliger," "bellowed back the 




UXDEKCLLFl'. 



storm " whose thunders had " crashed on the Bonder Berg, and rolled up 
the long defile of the Highlands, each headland making a new echo." 

A late writer has justly said of " IFndercliff " — " It is a lovely spot — 
beautiful in itself, beautiful in its surroundings, and inexpressibly 
beautiful in the home affections which hallow it, and the graceful and 
genial hospitality which, without pretence or ostentation, receives the 
guest, and with heart in the grasp of the hand, and truth in the sparkle 
of the eye, makes him feel that he is welcome." Over that household, a 



THE HUDSON. 249 



daughter, the " fair and gentle Ida," celebrated in the following beautiful 
poem, presided for several years : — 

"Where Hudson's wave o'er silveiy sands 

AVinds tlirough the hills afar, 
Old Cro' Nest like a monarch stands, 

Crowned with a single star ! 
And tliere, amid the billo\\'j' swells 

Of rock-ribbed, cloud-capped earth, 
My fair and gentle Ida dwells, 

A nymph of moimtain hirth. 

'• The snow flake that tlie cliff receives. 

The diamond of the showers, 
Spring's tender blossoms, buds, and leaves, 

The sisterhood of flowers. 
Mom's early beam, eve's bahny breeze. 

Her purity define ; 
Yet Ida's dearer far than these 

To this fond breast of mine. 

" My heart is on the hills. The shades 

Of night are on my brow : 
Ye iileasant haunts and quiet glades, 

Mj' soul is with you now ! 
I bless the star-crowned Higlilauds, where 

My Ida's footsteps roam : 
Oh for a falcon's wing to bear 

Me onward to my home ! " 

Between Cold Spring and "West Point lies a huge rocky island, now 
connected to the main by a reedy marsh already referred to. It was 
called by the Dutch navigators Martelaer's Island, and the reach in the 
river between it and the Storm King, Martelaer's Eack, or Martyr's 
Eeach. The word martyr was used in this connection to signify contending 
and struggling, as vessels coming up the river with a fair wind would 
frequently find themselves, immediately after passing the point of the 
island into this reach, struggling with the wind right ahead. 

The Americans fortified this island very early in the old war for inde- 
pendence. The chief military work was called Fort Constitution, and 
the island has ever since been known as Constitution Island. It contains 
very little arable, land, and is chiefly composed of rugged rocky heights, 
every one of which now bears the ruins of the old military works. To its 
shore nearest approaching West Point the Great Chain, which we have 
already considered, was fastened ; and upon a high bluflf near (delineated 

K IC 



250 



THE HUDSON. 



in the sketch) are yet seen the remains of a heavy battery — a part of Fort 
Constitution — placed there to protect the river obstructions. 

At the time of my visit, Constitution Island belonged to Henry 
"Warner, Esq., the father of the gifted and popular WT-iters, Susan and 
Anna B. Warner/^' They resided in a pleasant cottage, near the southern 
border of the island. Its kitchen was one of the barracks of Fort Consti- 
tution. It fronted upon a beautiful lawn that slopes to the river, and 
was sheltered by evergreen and deciduous trees, and beautified by flowers 




EUixs ur iiArxjiKY u.n coxsi'itutiox island. 



and shrubbery. Although within the sound of every paddle upon the 
river, every beat of the drum or note of the bugle at West Point, every 
roll and its echo of trains upon the railway, "Wood Crag," as their 
secluded residence was called, was almost as retired from the bustling 



* " Miss Susan Warner," says Duyckinck, in the " CyclopEedia of American Literature," " made a 
sudden step into eminence as a writer, by the publication, in 18-19, of ' The Wide, Wide World,' a novel 
in two volumes." Her second novel was " Queechy.'' She is also the author of a theological work 
entitled "The Law and the Testimonj'." Her sister is the author of " Dollars and Cents," a novel ; and 
several very pleasing volumes for young people. " The Hills of the Shatemuc," a tale of the Highlands, 
is the joint production of these gifted sisters. 



THE HUDSON. 



251 



world as if it was in the deep wilderness of the Upper Hudson. It is a 
charming home for a child of genius. 

On a pleasant morning in Octoher, while the trees were yet in full leaf 
and brilliant with the autumnal tints, we went from our home to Garrison's 
station on the Hudson Eiver Railway, and crossed to Cozzens's, a summer 
hotel in the Highlands, about a mile below "West Point. It was situated 
near the brow of a cliff on the western shore of the river, about 180 feet 
above tide water, and afforded a most delightful home, during the heat of 




VIEW AT GARKISOIS !?. 



summer, to numerous guests, varying in number from two hundi-ed and 
fifty to five hundi-ed. There, ever since the house was opened for guests 
in 1849, Lieutenant-General Scott, the General-in-Chief of the American 
army, had made his head-quarters during the four or five warmer months 
of the year. It was a place of fashionable resort from June until October, 
and at times was overflowing with guests, who filled the mansion and the 
several cottages attached to it. Among the latter was the studio of 
Leutze, the historical painter. Only a few days before our visit, it had 
been the scene of great festivity on the occasion of the reception of the 



252 



THE HUDSON. 



Prince of Wales and his suite, who spent a day and a night there, and at 
West Point, enjoying the unrivalled mountain and river scenery that 
surround them. 

The pleasure-grounds around Cozzens's were extensive, and were 
becoming more beautiful every year. They had been redeemed from the 
wilderness state, by labour, within ten years. We remember passing 
through that region before the hand of man was put forth for its redemp- 




COZZENS S. 



tion, and seeing the huge boulders — the "wandering rocks" of the 
geologist — strewn over the siu'face of the earth like apples beneath 
fruitful trees after an autumn storm. The change that had been wrought 
was marvellous. Another was about to take place. A few weeks after 
the visit here mentioned, that fine building delineated in the picture was 
destroyed by fire. The writer was passing by, in the evening, on the 
railway on the eastern side of the river, with a copy of the London Art 



THE HUDSON. 



253 



Journal in which thcso sketches were first published, containing this 
picture, while the building was in flames. Mr. Cozzens soon erected a 
more spacious one on the high rocky bluff overlooking Buttermilk Falls, 
a very short distance from the site of the other. 

Between Cozzens's and the mountains is a small cruciform stone church, 
erected years before the hotel was contemplated, chiefly by the contribu- 
tion of Professor Robert W. Weir, of West Point, the eminent historical 
painter, and one of the best of men in all the relations of life. It is really 
a memorial church, built in commemoration of his two sainted children, 




f'HURCII OF THE HOLY INIs'OCEXTS. 



and called " The Church of the Holy Innocents." For this pious purpose 
he devoted a portion of the money which he received from the United 
States Government for his picture of * The Embarkation of the Pilgrims,' 
now in the Rotunda of the National Capitol. Divine service, according 
to the modified ritual of the Church of England, is held there regularly, 
and the seats are free to all who choose to occupy them. "We trust our 
friend, whose modest nature slirinks from notoriety, will pardon us for 
this revelation of his sacred deed. The world, which needs good 
teachings, is entitled to the benefit of his noble example. 



254 



THE HUDSON. 



All about the cliffs, on the river front of Cozzens's, are winding paths, 
some leading through romantic dells and ravines, or along and across a 
clear mountain stream that goes laughing in pretty cascades down the 




THE EOAD TO COZZENS'S DOCK. 



steep shore to the river. The main road, partly cut like a sloping terrace 
in the rocks, is picturesque at every turn, but especially near the landing, 
where pleasant glimpses of the river and its water craft may be seen. 



THE HUDSON. 



255 



Altogether Cozzens's and its surroundings form, one of the most attractive 
places on the Hudson to those who seek health and pleasure. 

At Cozzens's Dock we procured a waterman, who took us to several 
places of interest in the vicinity. The first was Buttermilk Falls, half a 
mile below, on the same side of the river. Here a small stream comes 
rushing down the rocks in cascades and foaming rapids, falling more than 
a hundred feet in the course of as many yards. The chief fall, where the 





BUTTkK.MILK F.lLl.S. 



stream plunges into the river, is over a sloping granite rock. It spreads 
out into a broad sheet of milk-white foam, which suggested its name to 
the Dutch skippers, and they called it Boter Mclch Val — Buttermilk Pall. 
The stream ajffords water-power for flour-mills at the brink of the river. 
The fall is so great, that by a series of overshot water-wheels, arranged at 
different altitudes, a small quantity of water does marvellous execution. 



256 



THE HUDSON. 



Large vessels come alongside the elevator on the river front, and there 
discharge cargoes of wheat and take in cargoes of flour. 

Rude paths and bridges are so constructed that visitors may view the 
great fall and the cascades above from many points. The latter have a 
grand and wild aspect when the stream is brimful, after heavy rains and 
the melting of snows. 




IPPEB CASCADES, BUTTERMILK FALL. 



On the rough plain above is the village of Buttermilk Fall, containing 
over three hundred inhabitants. The country around is exceedingly 
rough and picturesque, especially in the direction of Fort Montgomery, 
tlircc or four miles below ; while on the brow of the high river bank near, 
there are some pleasant summer residences. Among these was the 
dwelling of Mr. Bigelow, then the associate of Mr. Bryant, the poet, in 



THE HUDSON. 



257 



the owner^hip and conduct of the New York Evening Post, but since 
appointed, first the Secretary of the American Legation at the French 
Court, in 1861, and afterward Minister Plenipotentiary at the same Court. 
Here on the smooth faces of the rocks might be seen a desecration 
■which deserves the severest reprobation. All through the Highlands, on 
the line of the Hudson River Railway, the same offence met the eye. 
"We refer to the occupation of smooth rocks by great staring letters, 
announcing the fact that one shopkeeper in New York has " Old London 




BtVJiRLV DOCK. 



Hock Gin" for sale, and that another sells " Paphiau Lotion for beauti- 
fying the Hair." AVe protest, in the name of every person of taste Avho 
travels upon the river and the road, against any disfiguring of the 
picturesque scenery of the Hudson Highlands, by making the out-cropping 
rocks of the grand old hills play the part of those itinerants who walk the 
streets of New York with enormous placards on their backs, advertising 
wares for sale ; and the Legislature of the State of New York, which, in 
1865, made such disfiguration a penal offence, deserves high praise. 
We crossed the river from Buttermilk Fall to the " Beverly Dock," 

L L 



258 THE HUDSON. 



which is interesting only as the place where Arnold, the traitor, entered 
his barge in which he escaped to the Vulture sloop-of-war, on the morning 
when he fled from the "Beverly House," the cause of which we have 
already considered. Here he kept his barge moored, and here he embarked 
on that flight which severed him for ever from the sympathies of his 
countrymen — ay, of the world — for those who "accepted the treason, 
despised the traitor." His six oarsmen on that occasion, unconscious of 
the nature of the general's errand in such hot haste down the river, had 
their muscles strengthened by a promised reward of two gallons of rum ; 
and the barge glided with the speed of the wind. They were awakened 
to a sense of their position only when they were detained on board the 
VidUire as prisoners, and saw their chief greeted as a friend by the enemies 
of their country. They were speedily set at liberty, in New York, by 
Sir Henry Clinton, who scorned Arnold for his meanness and treachery. 



CHAPTER XIV. 




E rowed to Garrison's, -where we dismissed the 
. waterman, and took the cars for Peek's Kill, six 
miles helow, a pleasant village lying at the river 
opening of a high and beautiful valley, and upon 
slopes that overlook a broad bay and extensive 
mountain ranges.^' "We passed the night at the 
house of a friend (Owen T. Coffin, Esq.), and from the lawn in 
front of his dwelling, which commands the finest view of the 
river and mountains in that vicinity, made the sketch of the 
Lower Entrance to the Highlands. On the left is seen the Bonder 
13erg, over and behind which Sir Henry Clinton's army marched to attack 
Forts Clinton and Montgomery. On the right is Anthony's Nose, with 
the site of Fort Independence between it and Peek's Kill ; and in the 
centre is Bear Mountain, at whose base is the beautiful Lake Sinnipink — 
the "Bloody Pond" in revolutionary times. This view includes a 
theatre of most important historical events. "We may only glance at 
them. 

Peek's Kill, named from the "Kill of Jan Peek," that flows into the 
Hudson just above the rocky promontory on the north-western side of the 
town, was an American depot of military stores, during the earlier years 
of the war for independence. These were destroyed and the post burnt 
by the British in the spring of 1777. There, during most of the war, 
was the head-quarters of important divisions of the revolutionary army, 
and there the British spy was hanged, concerning whom General Putnam 



* Peek's Kill Village was incoi-porated in 1S17. It is the most nortlierly place on the Hudson (being 
forty-one miles from New York), where business men in the metropolis reside. It is so sheltered by 
the Highlands, that it is an agreeable place of residence in the winter. It contains ten churches, 
excellent schools, and had a popnlation of about 4,000 in 1860. 



260 



THE HUDSON. 



wrote his famous laconic letter to Sir Henry Clinton. The latter claimed 
the offender as a British officer, when Putnam wrote in reply : — 



^^Head-quarters, 7th An ff list, 1777. 

"Sir, — Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken 
as a spy, lurking within our lines. He has been tried as a spy, condemned 
as a spy, and shall be executed as a spy ; and the flag is ordered to depart 
immediately. 



" P.S. — He has been accordingly executed." 



"IsKAEL Putnam." 




LOWER ENTRANCE TO THE HIGHLANDS, FROM PEEK'S KILL. 



At Peek's Kill we procured a waterman, whose father, then eighty-five 
years of age, conveyed the writer across the King's Ferry, four or five 
miles below, twelve years before. The morning was cool, and a stiff 
breeze was blowing from the north. "We crossed the bay, and entered 
Fort Montgomery Creek (anciently Poplopen's Kill) between the two 
rocky promontories on which stood Forts Clinton and Montgomery, within 
rifle-shot of each other. The banks of the creek are high and precipitous. 



THE HUDSON. 



261 



the southern one covered with trees ; and less than half a mile from its 
broad and deep mouth, in which large vessels may anchor, it is a wild 
mountain stream, rushing into the placid tide-water through narrow 
valleys and dark ravines. Here, at the foot of a wild cascade, we moored 




i ALLS IN FORT MONTGOMKEV t'REEK. 



our little boat, and sketched the scene. A short dam lias been constructed 
there for sending water through a flume to a mill a few rods below. 
This stream, like Indian Brook, presents a thousand charming pictures, 
where nature woos her lovers in the pleasant summer-time. 



262 



THE HUDSON. 



From the mill may be obtained a view of the promontories on each side 
of the creek, and of the lofty Anthony's Nose on the eastern side of the 
river, which appears in our sketch, dark and imposing, as we look toward 
the east. Tort Montgomery was on the northern side of the creek, and 
Fort Clinton on the southern side. They were constructed at the 
beginning of the war for independence, and became the theatre of a 
desperate and bloody contest in the autumn of 1777. They were strong 
fortresses, though feebly manned. From Fort Montgomery to Anthony's 
Nose a heavy boom and massive iron chain were stretched over the river, 




SCENE IN FOBT MONTGOMEEY CEEEK. 



to obstruct British ships that might attempt a passage toward West Point. 
The two forts were respectively commanded by two brothers, Generals 
George and James Clinton, the former at that time governor of the 
newly organised State of New York. 

Eurgoyne, then surrounded by the Americans at Saratoga, was, as we 
have observed in a former cliaptc]', in daily expectation of a diversion in 
liis favour, on the Lower Hudson, by Sir Henry Clinton — in command of 
the British troops at New York. Early in October, the latter fitted out 



I 



THE HUDSON. 



263 



an expedition for the Highlands, and accompanied it in person. He 
deceived General Putnam, then in command at Peek's Kill, by feints on 
that side of the river, at the same time he sent detachments over the 
Donder Berg, nnder cover of a fog. They were piloted by a resident 
Tory or loyalist, and in the afternoon of the 6th of October, and in two 
divisions, fell npon the forts. The commanders of the forts had no 
suspicions of the proximity of the enemy until their picket guards were 




LAKE SINNIPINK. 



assailed. These, and a detachment sent out in that direction, had a 
severe skirmish with the invaders on the borders of Lake Sinnipink, a 
beautiful sheet of water lying at the foot of the lofty Bear Mountain, on 
the same general level as the foundations of the fort. Many of the dead 
were cast into that lake, near its outlet, and their blood so incarnadined 
its waters, that it has ever since been vulgarly called "Bloody Pond." 
The garrisons at the two forts, meanwhile, prepared to resist the attack 



264 THE HUDSON. 



with, desperation. They -were completely invested at four o'clock in the 
afternoon, when a general contest commenced, in which British vessels in 
the river participated. It continued until twilight. The Americans 
then gave way, and a general flight ensued. The two commanders were 
among those who escaped to the mountains. The Americans lost in 
killed, wounded, and prisoners, about three hundred. The British loss 
was about one hundred and forty. 

The contest ended with a sublime spectacle. Above the boom and 
chain the Americans had two frigates, two galleys, and an armed sloop. 
On the fall of the forts, the crews of these vessels spread their sails, and, 
slipping their cables, attempted to escape up the river. But the wind 
was adverse, and they were compelled to abandon them. They set them 
on fire wlien they left, to prevent their falling into the hands of an 
enemy. " The flames suddenly broke forth," wrote Stedman, a British 
officer and author, " and, as every sail was set, the vessels soon became 
magnificent pyramids of fire. The reflection on the steep face of the 
opposite mountain (Anthony's Nose), and the long train of ruddy light 
which shone upon the water for a prodigious distance, had a wonderful 
effect ; while the ear was awfully filled with the continued echoes from 
the . rocky shores, as the fiamcs gradually reached the loaded cannons. 
The whole Avas sublimely terminated by the explosions, which left all 
again in darkness." 

Early on the following morning, the obstructions in the river, which 
had cost the Americans a quarter of a million of dollars, continental 
money, were destroyed by the British fleet. Fort Constitution, opposite 
"West Point, was abandoned. A free passage of the Hudson being opened, 
Vaughan and AVallacc sailed up the river on their destructive errand to 
Kingston and Clermont, already mentioned. 

A short distance below Montgomery Creek, at the mouth of Lake 
Sinnipink Brook, is one of the depots of the Knickerbocker Ice Company, 
of New York. The spacious storehouses for the ice are on the rocky 
bank, thirty or forty feet above the river. The ice, cut in blocks from 
the lake above in winter, is sent down upon wooden " ways," that wind 
through the forest with a gentle inclination, from the outlet of Sinnipink, 
for nearly half a mile. A portion of the " ways," from the storehouses 



THE HUDSON. 



265 



to the forwarding depot below, is seen iu our sketch. From that depot 
the ice is conveyed into vessels in warm weather, and carried to market. 
More than thirty thousand tons of ice are annually shipped from this 
single depot. Ice is an important article of the commerce of the Hudson, 
from whose surface, also, immense quantities are gathered every winter. 

From the high bank above the ice depot, a very fine view of Anthony's 
Nose and the Sugar Loaf in the distance may be obtained. The latter name 
the reader will remember as that of the lofty eminence in the rear of the 




A>'THONV'S NOSE AM) THE SUGAB LOAF, FROM THE ICE DEPOT. 



Beverly House. At West Point and its vicinity it forms a long range of 
mountains, but looking up from the neighbourhood of the Nose, it is a 
perfect pyramid in form. It is one of the first objects that attract the 
eye of the voyager, when turning the point of the Nose on entering the 
Highlands from below. Its form suggested to the practical minds of the 
Dutch a Suychr Broodt — Sugar Loaf — and so they named it. 



266 



THE HUDSON. 



We crossed the river from Lake Sinnipink to Anthony's Nose, through 
the point of which the Hudson Eiver Kaihvay passes, in a tunnel over 
two hundred feet in length. This is a lofty rocky promontory, whose 
summit is almost thirteen hundred feet above the river, and with the 
jutting point of the Donder Berg, a mile and a half below, gives the 
Hudson there a double curve, and the appearance of an arm of the sea, 
terminating at the mountains. Such was the opinion of Hendrick 
Hudson, as he approached this point from below. The true origin of the 




TUNNEL AT AKTHONi'S KOSE. 



name of this promontory is unknown. Irving makes the veracious 
historian, Diedrich Knickerbocker, throw light upon the subject : — 

"And now I am going to tell a fact, which I doubt much my readers 
will hesitate to believe, but if they do they are welcome not to believe a 
word in this whole history — for nothing which it contains is more true. 
It must be known then that the nose of Anthony the trumpeter was of a 
very lusty size, strutting boldly from his countenance like a mountain of 
Golconda, being sumptuously bedecked with rubies and other precious 



THE HUDSON. 26' 



stones — the true regalia of a king of good fellows, which jolly Bacchus 
grants to all who bouse it heartily at the flagon. Now thus it happened, 
that bright and early in the morning, the good Anthony, having washed 
his burly visage, was leaning over the quarter railing of the galley, 
contemplating it in the glassy wave below. Just at this moment the 
illustrious sun, breaking in all his splendour from behind a high bluff of 
the Highlands, did dart one of his most potent beams full upon the 
refulgent nose of the sounder of brass — the reflection of which shot 
straightway down hissing hot into the water, and killed a mighty 
sturgeon that was sporting beside the vessel. This huge monster, being 
with infinite labour hoisted on board, furnished a luxurious repast to all 
the crew, being accounted of excellent flavour excepting about the wound, 
where it smacked a little of brimstone — and this, on my veracity, was the 
first time that ever sturgeon was eaten in these parts by Christian 
people. "When this astonishing miracle became known to Peter Stuy- 
vesant, and that he tasted of the unknown fish, he, as may well be 
supposed, marvelled exceedingly; and as a monument thereof, he gave 
the name of Anthony's Nose to a stout promontory in the neighbourhood, 
and it has continued to be called Anthony's Nose ever since that time." 

Down the steep rocky valley between Anthony's Nose and a summit 
almost as lofty half a mile below, one of the wildest streams of this 
region flows in gentle cascades in dry weather, but as a rushing torrent 
during rain-storms or the time of the melting of the snows in spring. 
The Dutch called it Broclcen Kill, or Broken Creek, it being seen in 
"bits" as it finds its way among the rocks and shrubbery to the river. 
The name is now corrupted to Brockey Kill. It is extremely picturesque 
from every point of view, especially when seen glittering in the evening 
sun. It comes from a wild wet region among the hills, where the 
Rattlesnake,'^- the most venomous serpent of the American continent. 



* The Crotalus durissus, or common northern Rattlesnake of the United States, is of a yellowisli or 
reddish brown, sometimes of a chestnut black, witli irregular rhomboidal black blotches ; head large, 
flattened, and triangular ; length from three to seven or eight feet. On the tail is a rattle, consisting of 
several horny enlargements, loosely attached to each other, making a loud rattling sound when shaken 
and rubbed against each other. These are used by the sei-pent to give warning of its presence. When 
disturbed, it throws itself into a coil, vibrates its rattles, and then springing, sometimes four or Ave feet, 
fixes its deadly fangs in its victim. It feeds on birds, rabbits, squin'els, &c. 



268 



THE HUDSON. 



abounds. They are found in all parts of the Highlands, but in far less 
abundance than formerly. Indeed they are now so seldom seen, that the 
tourist need have no dread of them. 




THE BKOCKEN KILL. 



A little beloAv the Brocken Kill, at Flat Point, is one of those tunnels 
and deep rock cuttings so frequently passed along the entire line of the 
Hudson Tviver llaihvay ; and in the river opposite is a picturesque island 



THE ^UDSON. 



269 



called lona, containing about 300 acres of land, including a marsh meadow 
of 200 acres. Only about forty acres of the island proper, besides, is 
capable of tillage. It lies within the triangle formed by the Bonder 
Berg, Anthony's Nose, and Bear Mountain. There we spent an hour 
pleasantly and profitably with the proprietor, C. W. Grant, M.D., who 
resided there, and was extensively engaged in the propagation of grape- 
vines and choice fruit-trees. He had a vineyard of twenty acres, from 
2,000 to 3,000 bearing pear-trees, and small fruit of eveiy kind. He had 




RATTLESNAKE. 



eleven propagation houses, and produced more grape and other fruit-plants 
than all other establishments in the United States combined. 

lona is upon the dividing line of temperature. The sea breeze stops 
here, and its effects are visible upon vegetation. The season is two weeks 
earlier than at Newburgh, only fourteen miles northward, above the 
Highlands. It is at the lower entrance to this mountain range. The 
width of the river between it and Anthony's Nose is only three-eighths of 
a mile — less than at any other point below Albany. The water is deep, 
and the tidal currents are so swift, that this part of the river is called 
''The Race." 



270 



THE HUDSON. 



Southward from lona, on the "western shore of the river, rises the 
rocky Donder Berg, or Thunder Mountain, -where, in summer, the tempest 
is often seen brooding. "The captains of the river craft," says Irving, 
in his legend of " The Storm-Ship," "talk of a little bulbous-bottomed 
Dutch goblin, in trunk hose and sugar-loafed hat, with a speaking-trumpet 
in his hand, which, they say, keeps the Donder Berg. They declare that 
they have heard him, in stormy weather, in the midst of the turmoil. 




TUNNEL AT FLAT POINT. 



giving orders in Low Dutch, for the piping up of a fresh gust of wind, or 
the rattling off of another thunder-clap. That sometimes he has been seen 
surrounded by a crew of little imps, in broad breeches and short doublets, 
tumbling head over heels in the rack and mist, and playing a thousand 
gambols in the air, or buzzing like a swarm of flies about Anthony's Nose; 
and that, at such times, the hurry-scurry of the storm was always greatest. 
One time a sloop, in passing by the Donder Berg, was overtaken by a 



THE HUDSON. 



271 



thunder- gust, that came scouring round the mountain, and seemed to 
burst just over the vesseL Though tight and well ballasted, she laboured 
dreadfully, and the water came over the gunwale. All the crew were 
amazed, when it was discovered that there was a little white sugar-loaf 
hat on the mast-head, known at once to be the hat of the Heer of the 
Donder Berg. Nobody, however, dared to climb to the mast-head, and 
get rid of this terrible hat. The sloop continued labouring and rocking, 




lONA, FEOM THE EAILWAY. 



as if she would have rolled her mast overboard, and seemed in continual 
danger, either of upsetting, or of running on shore. In this way she 
drove quite through the Highlands, until she had passed Pollopel's Island, 
where, it is said, the jurisdiction of the Donder Berg potentate ceases. 
No sooner had she passed this bourne, than the little hat spi-ung up into 
the air like a top, whiided up all the clouds into a vortex, and hurried 
them back to the summit of the Donder Berg, while the sloop righted 



272 THE HUDSON. 



herself, and sailed on as quietly as if in a mill-pond. Nothing saved her 
from utter wreck but the fortunate circumstance of having a horse-shoe 
nailed against the mast — a wise precaution against evil spirits, since 
adopted by all the Dutch captains that navigate this haunted river. 

" There is another story told of this foul- weather urchin, by Skipper 
Daniel Ouslesticker, of Fish Kill, who was never known to tell a lie. 
He declared that, in a severe squall, he saw him seated astride of his 
bowsprit, riding the sloop ashore, full butt against Anthony's Nose, and 
that he was exorcised by Dominic Van Geisen, of Esopus, who happened 
to be on board, and who sang the hymn of St. Nicholas, whereupon the 
goblin threw himself up in the air like a ball, and went off in a whirlwind, 
carrying away with him the nightcap of the Dominic's wife, which was 
disco vex'ed the next Sunday morning hanging on the weather- cock of 
Esopus church steeple, at least forty miles oflp. Several events of this 
kind having taken place, the regular skippers of the river for a long time 
did not venture to pass the Donder Berg without lowering their peaks, 
out of homage to the Heer of the Mountains ; and it was observed that 
all such as paid this tribute of respect were suffered to pass unmolested." 

We have observed that the tempest is often seen bi'ooding upon the 
Donder Berg in summer. We give a sketch of one of those scenes, drawn 
by the writer several years ago, when the steam-engine of an immense 
pumping apparatus was in operation at Donder Berg Point. Concerning 
that engine and its co-workers, there is a curious tale of mingled fraud, 
superstition, credulity, and "gullibility," that vies with many a plot 
born in the romancer's brain. It cannot be told here. The simple out- 
lines are, that some years ago an iron cannon was, by accident, brought 
up from the river depths at this point. Some speculator, as the story 
goes, at once conceived a scheme of fraud, for the success of which he 
relied on the average ignorance and credulity of mankind. It was boldly 
proclaimed, in the face of recorded history, that Captain Kidd's pii-atical 
vessel was sunken in a storm at this spot with untold treasures on board, 
and that one of his cannons had been raised. Further, that the deck of 
his vessel had been penetrated by a very long augur, hard substances 
encountered by it, and pieces of silver brought up in its thread — the 
evidence of coffers of specie below. This augur with its bits of silver was 



THE HUDSON. 



273 



exhibited, and the story believed. A stock company was formed. Shares 
were readily taken. The speculator was chief manager. A coffer dam 
was made over the supposed resting-place of the treasure-ship. A steam- 
engine and huge pumps, driven by it, were set in motion. Day after day, 
and month after month, the work went on. One credulous New York 
merchant invested 20,000 dollars in the scheme. The speculator took 
large commissions. Hope failed, the work stopped, and nothing now 




DOSDEK BEKG POI^■T. 



remains to tell the tale but the ruins of the coffer dam and the remains of 
the pumps, which may be seen almost on a level with the surface of the 
river, at high water. 

The true history of the cannon found there is, probably, that it is one 
of several captured by the Americans at Stony Point, just below, in 1779. 
They attempted to carry the cannon on galleys (flat boats) to West Point. 
According to the narrative of a British officer present, a shot from the 

N N 



274 THE HUDSON. 



Vulture sloop-of-war sunk one of the boats off Donder Berg Point. This 
cannon, probably, went to the bottom of the river at that time. And so 
vanishes the right of any of Kidd's descendants to that old cannon. 

A few weeks after my visit to the Bonder Berg and its vicinity, I was 
again at Peek's Kill, and upon its broad and beautiful bay. But a great 
change had taken place in the aspect of the scene. The sober foliage of 
late autumn had fallen, and where lately the most gorgeous colours clothed 
the lofty hills in indescribable beauty, nothing but bare stems and 
branches, and grey rugged rocks, were seen, shrouded in the snow that 
covered hill and valley, mountain and plain. The river presented a 
smooth surface of strong ice, and winter, with all its rigours, was holding 
supreme rule in the realm of nature without. 

It was evening when I arrived at Peek's Kill — a cold, serene, moon- 
light evening. Muflled in a thick cloak, and with hands covered by stout 
woollen gloves, I sallied out to transfer to paper and fix in memory the 
scene upon Peck's Kill (or Peek's Kill Creek, as it is erroneously written), 
of which I had obtained a glimpse from the window of the railway- car. 
The frost bit sharply, and cold keen gusts of wind came sweeping from 
the Highlands, while I stood upon the causeway at the drawbridge at the 
mouth of Peek's Kill, and made my evening sketch.*' All was cold, 
silent, glittering, and solitary, except a group of young skaters, gliding 
speetre-like in the crisp night air, their merry laughter ringing out clear 
and loud when one of the party was made to " see stars" — not in the 
black arch above — as his head took the place of his heels upon the ice. 
The form of an iron furnace, in deep shadow, on the southern side of the 
creek, was the only token of human labour to be seen in the view, except 
the cabin of the drawbridge keeper at my side. 

A little north of Peek's Kill Hollow, as the valley is called by the 
inhabitants, is another, lying at the bases of the rugged Highlands, called 
the Canopus Hollow. It is a deep, rich, and interesting valley, through 
which flows the Canopus Creek. In its bosom is pleasant little Continental 



» Tliis railway-bridge and causeway is called Cortlandt Bridge. It is 1,498 feet in length. At its 
north-western end is a gravelly hill, on which stood a battery, called Fort Independence, during the 
Revolution. The Indians called the Peek's Kill Mag-ri-ga-ria;, and its vicinity Sack-hoes. 



THE HUDSON. 



275 



Village, so named in the time of the Revolution because the hamlet there 
was made a depot for Continental or Government cattle and stores. These 
were destroyed, three days after the capture of Forts Clinton and Mont- 
gomery, by Governor Tyron, at the head of a band of German mer- 
cenaries known as Hessians, because a larger portion of the German 
troops, hired by the British Government to assist in crushing the rebellion 
in America, were furnished by the Prince of Hesse Cassel. Tryon, who 




THE peek's kill. 



had been governor of the colony of New York, and was now a brigadier 
in the royal army, hated the Americans intensely. He really seemed to 
delight in expeditions of this kind, having almost destroyed Danbury, in 
Connecticut, and East Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk, on the borders of 
Long Island Sound, in the same State. Now, after destroying the public 
stores and slaughtering many cattle, he set fire to almost every house in 
the village. In allusion to this, and the devastations on the Hudson, 



276 



THE HUDSON. 



above tlie Highlands, by General Vaugban, Trumbull, an American 
contemporary poet, wrote indignantly : — 



' BehoUl, like whelps of Britain's lion, 
Our warriors, Clinton, Vaughan, and Trj'on, 
March forth with patriotic joy 
To ravish, plunder, and destroy. 
Great gen'rals! foremost in their nation, 
Tlie journeymen of desolation. 
Like Samson's foxes, each assails, 
Let loose with fire-brands in their tails. 
And spreads destruction more forlorn 
Than they among Pliilistine com." 



It is proper to observe that Tryon's marauding expeditions 'were con- 





SKA'JERS ON 1'EEk'S KILL BAY. 



demned by the British public, and the ministry -were censured by the 
opposition in parliament for permitting such conduct to pass unrebuked. 

On the folio-wing morning, -when tlie sun had climbed high towards 
meridian, I left Peek's Kill for a day's sketching and observation in the 



THE HUDSON. 277 



winter air. The bay was alive with people of all ages, sexes, and condi- 
tions. It was the first day since a late snow-storm that the river had 
offered good sport for skaters, and the navigators of ice-boats.^' It was a 
gay scene. "Wrapped in furs and shawls, over-coats and cloaks, men and 
women, boys and girls, wex'e enjoying the rare exercise with the greatest 
pleasure. Fun, pure fun, ruled the hour. The air was vocal with shouts 
and laughter; and when the swift ice-boat, with sails set, gay pennon 
streaming, and freighted with a dozen boys and girls, came sweeping 
gracefully towards the crowd, — after making a comet-like orbit of four or 
five miles to the feet of the Bonder Berg, Eear Mountain, and Anthony's 
iNose, — there was a sudden shout, and scattering, and merry laughter, 
that would have made old Scrooge, even before his conversion, tremulous 
with delight, and glowing with desires to be a boy again and singing 
Christmas Carols with a hearty good-will. I played the boy with the 
rest for awhile, and then, with long strides upon skates, my satchel with 
portfolio slung over my shoulder, I bore away towards the great lime- 
kilns on the shores of Tomkins's Cove, on the western side of the river, 
four or five miles below. 



* Tlie ice-boats are of various fonns of construction. Usually a strong wooden triangular platform 
is placed upon three sled-runners, having skate-ii'ons on their bottoms. The rear runner is worked on a 
pivot or hinne, by a tiller attached to a post that passes up through the platform, and thereby the boat is 
steered. The sails and rigging are similar to the common large sail-boat. Tlie passengers sit flat upon 
the platform, and with a good wind are moved rapidly over the ice, oftentimes at the rate of a mile in a 
minute. 




CHAPTER XV. 

W>J W my way to Tomkins's Cove I encountered other groups 

'"'^ of people, who appeared in positive contrast with the 

Wi merry skaters on Peek's Kill Bay. They were sober, 

fllWiijliliX^'" thoughtful, winter fishermen, thickly scattered over 

®y the surface, and drawing their long nets from narrow 

fissures which they had cut in the ice. The tide was " serving," 

and many a striped bass, and white perch, and infant sturgeon 

at times, were drawn out of their warmer element to be 

instantly congealed in the keen wintry air. 

These fishermen often find their calling almost as profitable 
in winter as in April and May, when they draw " schools " of shad from 
the deep. They generally have a " catch" twice a day when the tide is 
" slack," their nets being filled when it is ebbing or flowing. They cut 
fissures in the ice, at right angles with the direction of the tidal currents, 
eight or ten yards in length, and about two feet in width, into which 
they drop their nets, sink them with weights, and stretching them to 
their utmost length, suspend them by sticks that lie across the fissure. 
Baskets, boxes on hand-sledges, and sometimes sledges drawn by a horse, 
are used in carrying the " catch " to land. Lower down the river, in the 
vicinity of the Palisades, when the strength of the ice will allow this 
kind of fishing, bass weighing from thirty to forty pounds each are fre- 
quently caught. These winter fisheries extend from the Donder Berg to 
Piermont, a distance of about twenty-five miles. 

I went on shore at the ruins of an old lime-kiln at the upper edge of 
Tomkins's Cove, and sketched the fishermen in the distance toward Peek's 
Kill. It was a tedious task, and, with benumbed fingers, I hastened to 
the office and store of the Tomkins Lime Company to seek warmth and 
information. With Mr. Searing, one of the proprietors, I visited the 
kilns. They are the most extensive works of the kind on the Hudson. 



They are at the foot of an immense cliff of limestone, nearly 200 feet in 
height, immediately behind the kilns, and extend more than half a mile 
along the river.^' The kilns were numerous, and in their management, and 
the quarrying of the limestone, about 100 men were continually employed. 
I saw them on the brow of the wooded cliff, loosening huge masses and 
sending them below, while others were engaged in blasting, and others 
again in wheeling the lime from the vents of the kilns to heaps in front. 




MIM'EE FISIIIKG. 



where it is slaked before being placed in vessels for transportation to 
market. This is a necessary precaution against spontaneous combustion. 



* Tliis deposit of limestone occupies a supei-ficial area of nearly 600 acres, extending in the rear of 
Ston}' and Grassy Points, where it disappears beneath the red sandstone formation. It is traversed by 
white veins of carbonate of lime. In- 1837 Mr. Tomkins purchased 20 acres of land covering this lime- 
stone bed for 100 dollars an acre, then considered a very extravagant price. The stratum where they 
are now quarrying is at least 500 feet in thickness. It is estimated that an acre of this limestone, 
worked down to the wafer level, will yield 600,000 barrels of lime, upon which a mean profit of 25 cents 
a barrel is the minimum Some of this limestone is black and variegated, and makes pleasing orna- 
mental marbles. Most of it is blue. 



280 



THE HUDSON. 



Many vessels are employed in carrying away lime, limestone, and 
"gravel" (pulverized limestone, not fit for the kiln) from Tomkins's 
Cove, for -whose accommodation several small wharves have heen 
constructed. 

One million bushels of lime were produced at the kilns each year. From 
the quarries, thousands of tons of the stone were sent annually to kilns 
in New Jersey. From 20,000 to 25,000 tons of the " gravel " were used 
each year in the construction of macadamised roads. The quarry had 




FISHEEMEN, I'KOM THE OLD LIME-KIL>'S. 

been worked almost twenty-five years. From small beginnings the 
establishment had grown to a veiy extensive one. The dwelling of the 
chief proprietor was upon the hill above the kiln at the upper side of 
the cove ; and near the water the houses of the workmen form a pleasant 
little village. The country behind, for many miles, is very wild, and 
almost uncultivated. 

I followed a narrow road along the bank of the river, to the extreme 



I 



THE HUDSON. 



281 



southern verge of the limestone cliff, near Stony Point, and there 
sketched that famous, bold, rocky peninsula from the best spot where a 
view of its entire length may be obtained. The whole Point is a mass of 
granite rock, with patches of evergreen trees and shrubs, excepting on its 
northern side (at which we are looking in the sketch), where may be seen 
a black cliif of magnetic iron ore. It is too limited in quantity to tempt 
labour or capital to quarry it, and the granite is too much broken to be 




TOMKINS'S LIME.KILNS AXU QUAERV. 



very desirable for building purposes. So that peninsula, clustered with 
historic associations, will ever remain almost unchanged in form and 
feature. A lighthouse, a keeper's lodge, and a fog-bell, occupy its summit. 
These stand upon and within the mounds that mark the site of the old 
fort which was built there at the beginning of the war for independence. 
Stony Point was the theatre of stirring events in the summer of 1779. 
The fort there, and Fort Fayette on Yerplanck's Point, on the opposite side 



282 



THE HUDSON. 



of the river, were captured from the Americans by Sir Henry Clinton, on 
the 1st of June of that year. Clinton commanded the troops in person. 
These were conveyed by a small squadron under the command of Admiral 
Collier. The garrison at Stony Point was very small, and retired towards 
"West Point on the approach of the British. The fort changed masters 
without bloodshed. The victors pointed the guns of the captured fortress, 
and cannon and bombs brought by themselves, upon Port Payette the next 







morning. General Yaughan assailed it in the rear, and the little garrison 
soon surrendered themselves prisoners of war. 

These fortresses, commanding the lower entrance to •the Highlands, 
were very important. General Anthony "Wayne, known as "Mad 
Anthony," on account of his impetuosity and daring in the service, was 
then in command of the Americans in the neighbourhood. Burning with 
a desire to retake the forts, he applied to Washington for permission to 
make the attempt. It would be perilous in the extreme. The position of 



THE HUDSON. 



283 



the fort was almost impregnable. Situated upon a high rocky peninsula, 
an island at high water, and always inaccessible dry-shod, except across 
a narrow causeway, it was strongly defended by outworks and a double 
row of ahattis. Upon three sides of the rock were the waters of the 
Hudson, and on the fourth was a morass, deep and dangerous. The 
cautious Washington considered ; when the impetuous Wayne, scorning 
all obstacles, said, "General, I'll storm hell if you will only plan it I " 




STONY POIXT LIGHTUUUSE AXD TOG-BELL. 



Permission to attack Stony Point was given, preparations were secretly 
made, and at near midnight, on the 15th of July, Wayne led a strong 
force of determined men towards the fortress. They were divided into 
two columns, each led by a forlorn hope of twenty picked men. They 
advanced undiscovered until within pistol-shot of the picket guard on the 
heights. The garrison were suddenly aroused from sleep, and the deep 
silence of the night was broken by the roll of the drum, the loud cry "To 
arms ! to arms ! " the rattle of musketry from the ramparts and behind the 



284 THE HUDSON. 



abatiis, and the roar of cannon charged with deadly grape-shot. In the 
face of this terrible storm the Americans made their way, by force of 
bayonet, to the centre of the works. Wayne was struck upon the head 
by a musket ball that brought him upon hi^ knees. " March on! " he 
cried. * ' Carry me into the fort, for I will die at the head of my 
column ! " The wound was not very severe, and in an hour he had 
sufficiently recovered to write the following note to "Washington : — 

" Stony Foinf, I6th July, 1779, 2 o'cloclc, a.m. 

''Dear Genekal, — The fort and garrison, with Colonel Johnston, arc 
ours. Our officers and men behaved like men who are determined to be 

free. 

" Yours most respectfully, 

''Anthony "Wayne." 

At dawn the next morning the cannon of the captured fort were again 
turned upon Fort Fayette' on Verplanck's Point, then occupied by the 
British under Colonel "Webster. A desultory cannonading was kept up 
during the day. Sir Henry Clinton sent relief to "Webster, and the 
Americans ceased further attempts to recapture the fortress. They could 
not even retain Stony Point, their numbers were so few. "\Yashington 
ordered them to remove the ordnance and stores, and destroy and abandon 
the works. A large portion of the heavy ordnance was placed upon a 
galley to be conveyed to West Point. It was sunk by a shot from the 
Vulture, off Donder Berg Point, and one of the cannon, as we have 
observed, raised a few years ago by accident, was supposed to have been 
brought up from the wreck of the ship of the famous Captain Kidd. 
Congress testified its gratitude to "Wayne for his services by a vote of thanks 
for his "brave, prudent, and soldierly conduct," and also ordered a gold 
medal, emblematic of the event, to be struck and presented to him. 
Copies of this medal, in silver, were given to two of the subordinate 
officers engaged in the enterprise. 

I climbed to the summit of Stony Point along a steep, narrow, winding 
road from a deserted wharf, the snow almost knee-deep in some places. 
The view was a most interesting one. As connected with the history and 



THE HUDSON. 



285 



traditions of the country, every spot upon which, the eye rested was 
classic ground, and the waters awakened memories of many legends. 
Truthful chronicles and weird stories in abundance arc associated with the 
scenes around. Arnold's treason and Andre's capture and death, the 
"storm ship" and the "bulbous-bottomed Dutch goblin that keeps the 
Bonder Berg," already mentioned, and a score of histories and tales 
pressed upon the attention and claimed a passing thought. But the keen 
wintry wind sweeping over the Point kept the mind prosaic. There was 




VEKPLANCK'S point, iKu-M 



LIGHTHOUSE. 



no poetry in the attempts to sketch two or three of the most prominent 
scenes ; and I resolved, when that task was accomplished, to abandon the 
amusement until the warm sun of spring should release the waters from 
their Boreal chains, clothe the earth in verdure, and invite the birds from 
the balmy south to build their nests in the branches where the snow-heaps 
then lay. 

From the lighthouse is a comprehensive view of Yerplanck's Point 



286 



THE HUDSON. 



opposite, whereon no vestige of Fort Fayette now remains. A little 
village, pleasant pastures and tilled fields in summer, and brick 
manufactories the year round, now occupy the places of former structures 
of war, around which the soil still yields an occasional ball, and bomb, 
and musket shot. The Indians called this place Me-a-nagh. They sold 
it to Stephen Yan Cortlandt, in the year 1683, with land east of it called 
Ap-pa-magli-pocjh. The purchase was confirmed by patent from the 
English government. On this point Colonel Livingston held command at 




GRASSV POINT AND TOEN MOUNTAIN. 



the time of Arnold's treason, in 1780 ; and here were the head-quarters of 
Washington for some time in 1782, It was off" this point that Henry 
Hudson first anchored the Half-ILoon after leaving Yonkers. The 
Highland Indians flocked to the vessel in great numbers. One of them 
was killed in an aff'ray, and this circumstance planted the seed of hatred 
of the white man in the bosom of the Indians in that region. 

From the southern slope of Stony Point, where the rocks lay in wild 



THE HUDSON. 287 



confusion, a fine view of Grassy Point, Brewster's Cove, Haverstraw Bay, 
the Torn Mountain, and the surrounding country may be obtained. The 
little village of Grassy Point, where brick-making is the staple industrial 
pursuit, appeared like a dark tongue thrust out from the surrounding- 
whiteness. Haverstraw Bay, which swarms in summer with water-craft 
of every kind, lay on the left, in glittering solitude beneath the wintry 
clouds that gathered while I was there, and cast down a thick, fierce, 
blinding snow-shower, quite unlike that described by Bryant, when he 
sung — 

"Here delicate snow-stars out of the cloud, 
Come rtoating downward in airy play. 
Like spangles dropped from the glistening crowd 

That whiten by night the milky way ; 
There broader and burlier masses fall ; 
The sullen water buries them all : 

Flake after Hake, 
All drowned in the dark and silent lake." 

The snow-shower soon passed by. The spires of Haverstraw appeared in 
the distance, at the foot of the mountain, and on the right was Treason 
Hill, with the famous mansion of Joshua Hett Smith, who was involved 
in the odium of Arnold's attempt to betray his country. 

Here I will recall the memories of a visit there at the close of a pleasant 
summer day, several years ago. I had lingered upon Stony Point, until 
near sunset, listening to the stories of an old waterman, then eighty-five 
years of age, who assisted in building the fort, and then I started on foot 
for Haverstraw. I stopped frequently to view the beautiful prospect of 
river and country on the east, while the outlines of the distant shores 
were imperceptibly fading as the twilight came on. At dusk I passed an 
acre of ground, lying by the road-side, which was given some years before 
as a burial-place for the neighbourhood. It was already populous. The 
lines of Longfellow were suggested and pondered. He says, — 

"I like that ancient Saxon phrase which calls 
The burial-ground God's Acre ! It is just ; 
It consecrates each grave within its walls, 
And breathes a benison o'er tlie sleeping dust. 

" God^s Acre! Yes, that blessed name imparts 
Comfort to those who in the grave have sown 
The seed that they had garner'd in their hearts, 
Their bread of life, alas ! no more their own." 



THE HUDSON. 



■ Night had fallen when I reached Treason Hill, so I passed on to the 
village near. Early on the following morning, before the dew had left 
the grass, I sketched Smith's House, where Arnold and Andre completed 
those negotiations concerning the delivery, by the former, of "West Point 
and its defenders into the hands of the British, for a mercenary con- 
sideration, which led to the death of one, and the eternal infamy of the 
other. 

The story of Arnold's treason may be briefly told. "We have had 
occasion to allude to it several times already. 




tiMITH"S HOUSE, ON TEEASON'^HILI,. 



Arnold was a brave soldier, but a bad man. He was wicked in boy- 
hood, and in early manhood his conduct was marked by traits that pro- 
mised ultimate disgrace. Impulsive, vindictive, and unscrupulous, he 
was personally unpopular, and was seldom without a quarrel with some 
of his companions in arms. This led to continual irritations, and his 
ambitious aims were often thwarted. He fought nobly for freedom 



THE HUDSON. 289 



during the earlier years of the war, but at last his passions gained the 
mastery over his judgment and conscience. 

Arnold twice received honourable wounds during the war — one at 
Quebec, the other almost two years later at Saratoga ; "" both were in the 
leg. The one last received, while gallantly fighting the troops of Bur- 
goyne, was not yet healed when, in the spring of 1778, the British army, 
under Sir Henry Clinton, evacuated Philadelphia, and the Americans, 
under Washington, came from their huts at Valley Forge to take their 
places. Arnold, not being able to do active duty in the field, was ap- 
pointed military governor of Philadelphia. Fond of display, he there 
entered upon a course of extravagant living that was instrumental in his 
ruin. He made his head-quarters at the fine old mansion built by William 
Penn, kept a coach and four, gave splendid dinner parties, and charmed 
the gayer portions of Philadelphia society with his princely display. His 
station and the splendour of his equipage captivated the daughter of 
Edwai'd Shippen, a leading loyalist, and afterwards chief justice of Penn- 
sylvania ; she was then only eighteen years of age. Her beauty and 
accomplishments won the heart of the widower of forty. They were 
married. Staunch Whigs shook their heads in doubt concerning the 
alliance of an American general with a leading Tory family. 

Arnold's extravagance soon brought numerous creditors to his door. 
Rather than retrench his expenses he procured money by a system of 
fraud and prostitution of his official power : the city being under martial 
law, his will was supreme. The people became incensed, and official 
inquiries into his conduct were instituted, first by the local state council, 
and then by the Continental Congress. Tlic latter body referred the 
whole matter to Washington. The accused was tried by court-martial, 
and he was found guilty of two of four charges. The court passed the 
mildest sentence possible — a mere reprimand by the commander-in-chief. 
This duty Washington performed in the most delicate manner. " Our 



* Soon after Arnold joined the British Army, he was sent witli a considerable force upon a marauding 
expedition up tlie James River, in A'irginia. In an action not far from Richmond, the capital, some 
Americans were made prisoners. He asked one of them what his countrj-men would do wilh him 
(Arnold) if they should catch him. The prisoner instantly replied, " Bury the leg that was wounded at 
Quebec and Saratoga with military honours, and hang the remainder of you." 



290 THE HUDSON. 



profession," lie said, ''is the chastest of all; even the shadow of a fault 
tarnishes the lustre of our finest achievements. The least inadvertence 
may rob ns of the public favour, so hard to be acquired. I reprimand 
you for having forgotten that, in proportion as you had rendered yourself 
formidable to our enemies, you should have been guarded and temperate 
in your deportment towards your fellow citizens. Exhibit anew those 
noble qualities which have placed you on the list of our most valued 
commanders. I will myself furnish you, as far as it may be in my power, 
with opportunities of regaining the esteem of your country." 

What punishment could have been lighter ? yet Arnold was greatly 
irritated. A year had elapsed since his accusation, and he expected a 
full acquittal. But for nine months the rank weeds of treason had been 
growing luxuriantly in his heart. He saw no way to extricate himself 
from debt, and retain his position in the army. For nine months he had 
been in secret correspondence with British ofiicers in New York. His 
pride was now wounded, his vindictive spirit was aroused, and he resolved 
to sell his country for gold and military rank. He opened a correspon- 
dence in a disguised hand, and in commercial phrase, with Major John 
Andre, the young and highly accomplished adjutant- general of the 
British army. 

How far Mrs. Arnold (who had been quite intimate with Major Andre 
in Philadelphia, and had kept up an epistolary correspondence with him 
after the British army had left that city) was implicated in these treason- 
able communications we shall never know. Justice compels us to say that 
there is no evidence of her having had any knowledge of the transaction 
until the explosion of the plot at Beverly already mentioned. 

Arnold's deportment now suddenly changed. For a long time he had 
been sullen and indiiferent; now his patriotism glowed with all the 
apparent ardour of his earlier career. Hitherto he had pleaded the bad 
state of his wounds as an excuse for inaction ; now they healed rapidly. 
He appeared anxious to join his old companions in arms; and to General 
Schuyler, and other influential men, then in Congress, he expressed an 
ardent desire to be in the camp or in the field. They believed him to be 
sincere, and rejoiced. They wrote cheering letters to Washington on the 
subject ; and, pursuant to Arnold's intimation, they suggested the pro- 



2gj iU niu^ 4^ /C' 



THE HUDSON. 'Z\>\. 

priety of appointing him to the command of "West Point, the most im- 
portant post in the country. Arnold visited "Washington's camp at the 
same time, and, in a modest way, expressed a desire to have a command 
like that of AVest Point, as his wounds would not permit him to perform 
very active service on horseback. 

The change surprised "Washington, yet he was unsuspicious of wrong. 
He gave Arnold the command of "West Point and its dependencies," 
and furnished him with written instructions on the 3rd of August, 1780. 
Then it was that Arnold made his head-quarters at Beverly, and worked 
vigorously for the consummation of his treasonable designs. There he 
was joined by his wife and infant son. He at once communicated, in his 
disguised writing and commercial phraseology, under the signature of 
Gustavus, his plan to Sir Henry Clinton, through Major Andre, whom he 
addressed as "John Anderson." That plan we have already alluded to. 
Sir Henry was delighted with it, and eagerly sought to carry it out. He 
was not yet fully aware of the real character behind " GustaATis," although 
for several months he had suspected it to be General Arnold. Unwilling 
to proceed further upon uncertainties, he proposed sending an officer to 
some point near the American lines, who should have a personal interview 
with his correspondent. "Gustavus" consented, stipulating, however, 
that the messenger from Clinton should be Major Andre, his adjutant- 
general. 

Arnold and Andre agreed to meet at Dobbs's Ferry, twenty-two miles 
above New York, upon what was then known as neutral ground. The 
British water-guard prevented the approach of Arnold. Sir Henry, anxious 
to complete the arrangement, and to execute the plan, sent the VuUuve 
sloop of war up the river as far as Tarry Town, with Colonel Eobinson, 
the owner of Beverly, who managed to communicate with Arnold. A 
meeting of Arnold and Andre was arranged. On the morning of the 
^20th of_Au^ ist, the _latter officer left New York, proceeded by land to 
Dobbs's Ferry, and from thence to the Vulture, where it was expected the 
traitor would meet him that night. The wily general avoided the great 
danger. He repaired to the house of Joshua Hett Smith, a brother to the 
Tory chief justice of New York, and employed him to go to the Vulture 
at night, and bring a gentleman to the western shore of the Hudson. 







/^r¥^ 




292 



THE HUDSON. 



There was delay, and Smith did not make the voyage until the night of 
the 21st, after the moon had gone behind the high hills in the west. 
With muffled oars he paddled noiselessly out of Haverstraw Creek, and, 
at little past midnight, reached the Vulture. It was a serene night, not 
a ripple was upon the bosom of the river. Not a word was spoken. The 





MEETIMi-PLAfE Oi" AKDEE AKD AEI('OLD. 



boat came alongside, with a concerted signal, and received Sir Henry's 
representative. Andre was dressed in his scaxiet uniform, but all was 
concealed by a long blue surtout, buttoned to the chin. He was conveyed 
to an estuary at the foot of Long Clove Mountain, a little below the 



THE HUDSON. 293 



Village of Haverstraw. Smith led the officer to a thicket near the shore, 
and then, in a low whisper, introduced " John Anderson " to "Gustavus," 
who acknowledged himself to be Major-General Arnold, of the Continental 
Army. There, in the deep shadows of night, concealed from human cogni- 
zance, with no witnesses but the stars above them, they discussed the 
dark plans of treason, and plotted the utter ruin of the Kepublican cause. 
The faint harbingers of day began to appear in the east, and yet the con- 
ference was earnest and unfinished. Smith came and urged the necessity 
of haste to prevent discovery. Much was yet to be done. Arnold had 
expected a protracted interview, and had brought two horses with him. 
While the morning twilight was yet dim, they mounted and started for 
Smith's house. They had not proceeded far when the voice of a sentinel 
challenged them, and Andre found himself entering the American lines. 
He paused, for within them he would be a spy. Arnold assured him by 
promises of safety ; and before sunrise they were at Smith's house, on 
what has since been known as Treason Hill. At that moment the sound 
of a cannon came booming over Haverstraw Bay from the eastern shore ; 
and within twenty minutes the Vulture was seen dropping down the river, 
to avoid the shots of an American gun on Teller's Point. To the amaze- 
ment of Andre, she disappeared. Deep inquietude stirred his spirit. He 
was within the American lines, without flag or pass. If detected, he 
would be called a spy — a name which he despised as much as that of 
traito)^. 

At noon the whole plan was arranged. Arnold placed in Andre's pos- 
session several papers — fatal papers ! — exjdanatory of the condition of 
West Point and its dependencies. Zealous for the interests of his king 
and country, Andre, contrary to the explicit orders of Sir Henry Clinton, 
received them. He placed them in his stockings, under his feet, at the 
suggestiou of Arnold, received a pass from the tiaitor in the event of 
his being compelled to return to K'ew York by land, and waited with 
great impatience for the approaching night, when he should be taken in 
a boat to the Vulture. The remainder of the sad narrative will be re- 
peated presently at a more appropriate point in our journey towards 
the sea. 

Returning from thio historical digression, I will recur to the narrative 



294 



THE HUDSON. 



of the events of a winter's day on the Hudson, only to say, that after 
sketching the Lighthouse and Fog-hell structure upon Stony Point, I 
hastened to the river, resumed my skates, and at twilight arrived at 
Peek's Kill, in time to take the railway-car for home. I had experienced 
a tedious but interesting day. The remembrance of it is far more 
delightful than was its endurance. 




CHAPTER XVI. 




HE winter was mild and constant. No special severity 
marked its dealings, yet it made no deviations in that 
respect from the usual course of the season sufficient to 
mark it as an innovator. Its breath chilled the waters 
early, and for several wrecks the Hudson was bridged 
with strong ice, from the wilderness almost to the sea. Mean- 
while the whole country was covered with a thick mantle of 
snow. Skaters, ice-boats, and sleighs traversed the smooth 
surface of the river with perfect safety, as far down as Peek's 
Kill Bay, and the counties upon its borders, separated by its flood in 
summer, were joined by the solid ice, that offered a medium for pleasant 
intercourse. during the short and dreary days of winter. 

Valentine's Day came— the day in England traditionally associated 
with the wooing of birds and lovers, and when the crocus and the dafi"odil 
proclaim the approach of spring. But here the birds and the early 
flowers were unseen ; the sceptre of the frost king was yet all-potent. 
The blue bird, the robin, and the swallow, our earliest feathered visitors 
from the south, yet lingered in their southern homes. Soon the clouds 
gathered and came down in warm and gentle rain ; the deep snows of 
northern New York melted rapidly, and the Upper Hudson and the 
Mohawk poured out a mighty flood that spread over the valleys, submerged 
town wharves, and burst the ribs of ice yet thick and compact. Down 
came the turbid waters whose attrition below, working with the warm 
sun above, loosened the icy chains that for seventy days had held the 
Hudson in bondage, and towards the close of February great masses of 
the shivered fetters were moving with the ebb and flow of the tide. The 
snow disappeared, the buds swelled, and, to the delight of all, one 
beautiful morning, when even the dew was not congealed, the blue birds, 
first harbmgers of approaching summer, were heard gaily singing in the 



296 



THE HUDSON. 



trees and hedges. It was a welcome and delightful invitation to the 
fields and waters, and I hastened to the lower borders of the Highland 
region to resume my pen and pencil sketches of the Hudson from the 
wilderness to the sea. 

The air was as balmy as May on the evening of my arrival at Sing 
Sing, on the eastern bank of the Hudson, where the State of New York 
has a large penitentiary for men and women. I strolled up the steep 
and winding street to the heart of the village, and took lodgings for the 




ST.Tnii ni rc. o^" tith nrr?ox. 



niglit. The sun was yet two hours above the horizon. 1 went out 
immediately upon a short tour of observation, and found ample compen- 
sation for the toil occasioned by the hilly pathways traversed. 

Sing Sing is a very pleasant village, of almost four thousand inhabitants. 
It lies upon a rudely broken slope of hills, that rise about one hundred 
a^nd eighty feet above the river, and overlook Tappan Bay,"^'' or Tappaanse 
Zee, as the early Dutch settlers called an expansion of the Hudson, 



Tap-pan was the nair.e of a Mohegan tribe that inhabited the eastern shores of the bay. 



THE HUDSON. 



Id: 



extending from Teller's or Croton Point on the north, to the northern 
bluff of the Palisades near Piermont. The origin of the name is to be 
found in the word Sint-sinck, the title of a powerful clan of the Mohegan 




or river Indians, who called this spot Os-sin-ing, from ossin, a stone, and 
ing, a place — stony place. A very appropriate name. The land in this 
vicinity, first parted with by the Indians, was granted to Frederick 

Q Q 



298. THE HUDSON. 



Philii^sc (who owned a large manorial estate along the Hudson), 
in 1685. 

Passing through the upper portion of the village of Sing Sing is a 
wild, picturesque ravine, lined with evergreen trees, with sides so rugged 
that the works of man have only here and there found lodgment. Through 
it flows the Kill, as the Dutch called it, or Sint-sinck brook, which rises 
among the hills east of the village, and falls into the Hudson after a 
succession of pretty rapids and cascades. Over it the waters of the 
Croton river pass on their way to supply the city of New York with a 
healthful beverage. Their channel is of heavy masonry, here lying upon 
an elliptical arch of hewn granite, of eighty-eight feet span, its keystone 
more than seventy feet from the waters of the brook under it. This 
great aqueduct will be more fully considered presently. 

On the southern borders of .the village of Sing Sing is a rough group 
of small hills, called collectively Mount Pleasant. They are formed of 
dolomitic, or white coarse-grained marble, of excellent quality and 
almost inexhaustible quantity, cropping out from a thin soil in many 
places. At the foot of Mount Pleasant, on the shore of the river, is a 
large prison for men, with a number of workshops and other buildings, 
belonging to the State of New York. A little way up the slope is the 
prison for women, a very neat and substantial building, with a fine 
colonnade on the river front. These prisons were built by convicts about 
thirty years ago, when there were two establishments of the kind in the 
State, one in the city of New York, the other at Auburn, in the interior. 
A new system of prison discipline had been adopted. Instead of the old 
system of indolent, solitary confinement, the workhouse feature was 
combined with incarceration in separate cells at night. They were made 
to work diligently all day, but in'^oerfect silence, no recognition by word, 
look, or gesture, being allowed among them. The adoption of this 
system, in 1823, rendered the prison accommodation insufiicient, and a 
new establishment was authorised in 1824. Mount Pleasant, near Sing 
Sing, was purchased, and in May, 1826, Captain Lynds, a farm agent of 
the Auburn prison, proceeded with one hundred felons from that estab- 
lishment to erect the new penitentiaiy. They quarried and wrought 
diligently among the marble rocks at Mount Pleasant, and the prison for 



THE HUDSON. 



299 



men was completed in 1829, when the convicts in the old State prison in 
the city of New York were removed to it. It had eight hundred cells, 
but these were found to he too few, and in 1831 another story was added 
to the building, and with it two hundred more cells, making one 
thousand in all, the present number. More are needed, for the number 
of convicts in the men's prison, at the beginning of 18G1, was a little 
more than thirteen hundred. In the prison for women there were only 




STATE PBISOX AT S^^G SIXG. 



one hundred cells, while the number of convicts was one hundred and 
fifty at that time. 

The ground occupied by the prisons is about ten feet above high-water 
mark. The main building, in which are the cells, is four hundred and 
eighty feet in length, forty-four feet in width, and five stories in height. 
Between the outside walls and the cells there is a space of about twelve 
feet, open from floor to roof. A part of it is occupied by a series of 



300 



THE HUDSON. 



galleries, there being a row of one hundred cells to each story on both 
fronts, and backing each other. Between the prison and the river are 
the several workshops, in which various trades are carried on. In front 
of the prison for women is the guard-house, where arms and instructions 
are given out to thirty-one guardsmen every morning. Between the 
guard-house and the prison the Hudson River Railway passes, partly 
through two tunnels and a deep trench. Upon the highest points of 
Mount Pleasant arc guard-houses, which overlook the quarries and other 
places of industrial operations. 




STATE PEISOKEES. 



It was just at sunset when I finished my sketch of the prisons and 
workshops. A large portion of Tappan Bay, and the range of high hills 
upon its western shore, were then immersed in a thin purple mist, so 
frequently seen in this region on balmy afternoons in the spring and 
autumn. The prison bell rang as I was turning to leave the scene, and 
soon a troop of convicts, dressed in the felon's garb, and accompanied by 
overseers, was marched towards the prison and taken to their cells, there 
to be fed and locked up for the night. Their costume consists of a short 



THE HUDSON. 301 



coat, vest, pantaloons, and cap, made of white kerseymere cloth, broadly 
striped with black. The stripes pass around the arms and legs, but are 
perpendicular upon the body of the coat. 

I visited the prisons early the following raorning, in company with one 
of the officers. "We first went through that in which the women are 
kept, and I was surprised at the absence of aspects of crime in the 
appearance of most of the convicts. The cells were all open, and many 
of them displayed evidences of taste and sentiment, hardly to be 
suspected in criminals. Fancy needlework, cheap pictures, and other 
ornaments, gave some of the cells an appearance of comfort ; but the 
wretchedly narrow spaces into which, in several instances, two of the 
convicts are placed together at night, because of a want of more cells, 
dispelled the temporary illusion that prison life was not so very uncomfort- 
able after all. The household drudgery and cookery were performed by 
the convicts, chiefly by the coloured ones, and a large number were 
employed in binding hats that are manufactured in the men's prison. 
They sat in a scries of rows, under the eyes of female overseers, silent, 
yet not very sad. Most of them were young, many of them interesting 
and innocent in their appearance, and two or three really beautiful. The 
crime of a majority of them was grand larceny. 

There was one woman there, six-and-thirty years of age, whose case 
was a sad one. She seemed to have been, through life, the victim of 
others' crimes, and doomed to suffer more for the sins of others than for 
her own. Years ago, a friend of the writer arrived at New York at an 
early hour one morning, and was led by curiosity to the police office, 
where persons arrested by watchmen during the night were disposed of 
at dawn. Whilst there, a beautiful young girl, shrinking from public 
gaze, and weeping as if her heart was breaking, was brought in. When 
her turn for examination came, the j usticc, too accustomed to the sight of 
A'iclous persons to exercise much compassion, accosted her riidely, she 
having been picked up as a street wanderer, and accused of vagrancy. 
She told a simple, touching story of her wrongs and misery. Only a 
month before, she had been the innocent daughter of loving parents in 
Connecticut. She came to the metropolis to visit an aunt, whose vicious 
son invited her to attend him to the theatre. She went without 



302 THE HUDSON. 



suspicion, took some refreshments which he offered her at the play, 
became oblivious within half an hour after partaking of the spiced wine 
which the young rillain had drugged, and before morning found herself 
covered with shame in a strange house in a strange part of the city. 
Utterly cast down, she avoided both aunt and parents. She was soon 
cast away by her wicked cousin, and on the night of her arrest was 
wandering alone, without shelter or hope. She was compelled to bow to 
her fate, whilst the law, at that time, could not touch the author of her 
degradation, who further wronged her by foulest slander, to palliate his 
own wickedness. Justice was not then so kindly disposed towards the 
erring and unfortunate as now. There was no Magdalen refuge for her, 
and the magistrate, with almost brutal roughness, reproached her, and 
sent her to " the Island "* for six months as a vagrant. The gentleman 
who witnessed this scene became possessed of her subsequent history. 

Associated with the vile, her degradation was complete, while her 
innate virtue struggled for existence. She was an outcast at the age of 
seventeen. Parental affection, yielding to the stern demands of social 
ethics, sought not to rescue or reform the child. She had "disgraced 
her family," and that offence was sufficient to win for her an eternal 
exile. "When the laAv was satisfied, she went forth with virtuous resolves, 
and sought a livelihood through menial service. Twice she was pointed 
at as a Magdalen and convict, and sought refuge from recognition in 
other places. At length a gleam of hope beamed upon her. She was 
wooed by a man who seemed honest and true, who had been charmed by 
her beauty. They were married. She was again allied with human 
sympathy, and was happy. Tears passed by. A cloud appeared. She 
suspected her husband to be in league with burglars and counterfeiters. 
She accused him inquiringly, and he confessed his guilt. She pleaded 
with him most tenderly, for the sake of herself and their three babes, to 
abandon his course of life. Her words were ineffectual. His vile 
associates became bold. His house became the receptacle of burglars' 
plunder, and the head-quarters of counterfeiting. To her the world was 
shut. She had sympathy only with her husband and children. She had 

* BhickweU's Island, in tlic East Eiver, which will be noticed hereafter. 



THE HUDSON. 303 



not courage to leave the loathed atmosphere of crime that filled her 
dwelling, and encounter again the blasts of a selfish world. She became 
a passive pai'ticipatov in guilt. Detection soon followed transgression. 
She was arraigned as an accomplice of her husband and his associates in 
counterfeiting. The proof was clear, and con\-iction followed. Three 
years before my visit she had been sent to the state prison for five years, 
and her husband for ten years. They have never met since hearing their 
sentence. Their babes were taken to the almshouse, and that crushed 
woman sat desolate within the prison walls. Meekly she performed her 
daily duties. There was a sweet sadness in her pale face. She was not 
a criminal in the eye of Di^dne justice ; she was a victim to be pitied — 
the wreck of an innocent and beautiful girl. Surely there must be some- 
thing radically wrong in the constitution of our society, that permits 
tender flowers to be thus blasted and thus neglected, and become like 
worthless weeds, to be trampled upon and forgotten. 

In the prison for men, and in the workshops, everything is carried on 
with the most perfect order ; every kind of labour, the meals, the religious 
exercises in the chapel, are all conducted according to the most rigid 
rules. The discipline is consequently quite perfect. Reformation, not 
merely 2^unishment, is the great aim, and the history of the prison attests 
the success of the efl^ort. Severe punishments arc becoming more and more 
rare, and the terrible Shower Bath, which has been so justly condemned by 
the humane, is now seldom used, and then in the presence of the prison 
physician. Only when all other means for forcing obedience have failed, 
is this horrid punishment inflicted. It is admitted, I believe, that the 
llount Pleasant or Sing Sing prison is one of the best conducted 
penitentiaries in the world. 

On returning to the village across the fields northward of Mount 
Pleasant, I obtained a full view of Teller's or Croton Point, which divides 
Tappan from Haverstraw Bay. It is almost two miles in length, and was 
called Se-nas-qua by the Indians, and by the English, Sarah's Point, in 
honour of Sarah, wife of "William Teller, who purchased it of the Indians 
for a barrel of rum and twelve blankets. It was called Teller's Point 
until within a few years, when the name of Croton was given to it. Near 
its extremity, within a pleasant, embowered lawn, stood the Italian villa 



304 



THE HUDSON. 



of E.. T. Underhill, M.D., who was sixth in descent from the famous 
Captain Underhill, a leader in the Indian wars of New England. The 
Point was owned by himself and brother, both of whom had extensive 
vineyards and luxuriant orchards. They had about eighty acres covered 
with the Isabella and Catawba grape vine, sixty of which belonged to the 
doctor. They also raised fine apples and melons in great abundance. 
From our point of view, near Sing Sing landing, the village of Haverstraw 
is seen in the vista between Croton Point and the High Torn Mountain on 
the left. 





CROTON rOINT, FROM SING SINCi. 



It was now the first day of March, and very warm ; the surface of the 
river was unruffled by a breeze. Knowing how boisterous and blustering 
this first spring month generally is, I took advantage of the fine weather, 
and crossed Tappan Bay to Eockland Lake village (formerly Slaughter's 
Landing), opposite Sing Sing, the most extensive ice-station on the river. 
After considerable delay, I procured a boat and oarsman — the former very 
leaky, and the latter very accommodating. The bay is here between two 
and three miles wide. We passed a few masses of floating ice and some 



THE HUDSON. 



305 



sailing vessels, and at little past noon lauded at llockland, where the 
Knickerbocker Ice Company had a wharf and barges, and a large inclined- 
plane railway, down which ice, brought from the adjacent lake, was sent 
to the vessels in the river. 




nOCKI.ASD, OR SLAUGHTERER'S LANDING. 



It was a weary way up the steep shore to the village and the lake, on 
the borders of a high and well-cultivated valley, half a mile from the river. 
This is the famous Rockland Lake, whose congealed waters have been so 



306 



THE HUDSON. 



long familiar to the thirsty dwellers in the metropolis. It is a lovely 
sheet of water, one hundred and fifty feet above the river. On its south- 
eastern borders, excepting where the village and ice-houses skirt it, are 
steep, rugged shores, Westward, a fertile country stretches away many 
a mile to rough hills and blue mountains. The lake is an irregular ellipse 
in form, half a mile in length, and three-fourths of a mile at its greatest 
width, and covers about five hundred acres. It is supplied by springs in 
its own bosom, and clear mountain brooks, and forms the head waters of 
the Hackensack river, which flows through New Jersey, and reaches the 




EOCKLAM) LAKK. 



salt water in Newark I3ay. Near its outlet, upon a grassy peninsula, is 
the residence of Moses G. Leonard, Esq., seen in the picture ; and in the 
distance, from our point of view, is seen the peak of the great Tom 
Mountain, back of Haverstraw. Along the eastern margin of the lake 
were extensive buildings for the storeage of ice in winter, at which time 
a thousand men were sometimes employed. The crop averaged nearly 
two hundred thousand tons a-ycar ; and during the warm season, one 
hundi-ed men were employed in conveying it to the river, and fifteen 



THE HUDSON. 



307 



barges were used in transporting it to New York, for distribution there, 
and exportation. 

We crossed the bay to Croton Point, visited the villa and vineyards of 




MOUTH OF THE CKOTOX. 



Doctor Underbill, and then rowed up Croton Bay to the mouth of the 
river, passing, on our Avay, under the drawbridge of the Hudson Ptiver 
Railway. It was late in the afternoon. There was a remarkable 



308 THE HUDSON. 



stillness and dreamy repose in the atmosphere, and we glided almost 
noiselessly up the bay, in company with two or three duck-hunters, in 
their little cockles. The tide was ebbing, and as we approached the 
mouth of the Croton, the current became more and more rapid, until we 
found oui-selves in a shallow rift abreast the Van Cortlandt Manor House, 
unable to proceed. After vain efforts of our united strength to stem the 
current, the boatman landed me on the southern shore of the stream. 
After satisfying his extortionate demand of about the price of three fares 
for his services, I dismissed him, with a strong desire never again to fall 
into his hands ; and then clambered up the rough bank by the margin of 
a brook, and made my way to the '' post road," a most picturesque highway 
along the lofty banks of the Croton. "When near the " High Bridge," at 
the old head of boat navigation, I obtained a most interesting view of the 
Mouth of the Croton, including Dover Kill Island near, the railway- 
bridge in the distance, and the high hills on the western shore of the 
Hudson in the extreme distance. The scenery thereabout is both 
picturesque and beautiful, and such is its character to the very sources 
of this famous stream eastward of the Pawling Mountains, whose clear 
waters supply the city of New York with wholesome beverage. 

The ancient name of the Croton was Kiich-a-ivan, signifying a large 
and swift current. The Dutch called it Croton in memory of an Indian 
Sachem of that name, whose habitation was on the northern border of the 
bay, near the neck, a little below the mouth of the river. Its sources are 
among the hills of Putnam and Duchess, and it has five considerable 
tributaries, all of mountain birth. When the authorities of the city of 
Kew York were seeking sources of ample supply of pure water, their 
attention was early called to this stream. Commissioners reported in 
favour of its use, though far away ; and in May, 1837, the construction of 
an aqueduct from a point six miles from its mouth to the metropolis was 
begun. At the head of the aqueduct a dam was constructed, for the 
ptirpose of forming a fountain reservoir. At the beginning of 1841 a 
flood, produced by a protracted rain-storm and melting snows, swept 
away the dam, and carried with it, riverward, a quantity of earth and 
gravel, sufficient to half fill the beaiitiful Croton Pay. The dam was 
immediately rebuilt, at greater altitude, and a lake was produced, almost 



THE HUDSON. 



309 



six miles in length, containing about 500,000,000 gallons. It is 166 feet 
above mean tide-water at New York, and pours into the aqueduct from 
40,000,000 to 50,000,000 gallons every twenty-four hours. Not having 
time to visit the fountain reservoir, I have availed myself of the pencil 
services of a friend, in giving a sketch of the dam from a point just 
below it. 

The Croton aqueduct runs parallel with the Hudson, at the mean 
distance of half a mile from it throuijhout its entire length. Its course is 



'W-^- 




^-^ 



CROTOX DAM. 



marked by culverts and arches of solid masonry, and its line may be 
observed at a distance by white stone towers, about fifteen feet in height, 
placed at intervals of a mile. These are ventilators of the aqueduct ; 
some of them are quite ornamental, as in the case of the one at Sing Sing, 
others are simple round towers, and every third one has a square base, 
with a door by which a person may enter the aqueduct. At the top of 
each is an iron screen, to prevent substances from being cast into the 



310 



THE HUDSON. 



ventilators. Our little group shows the clifFerent forms of these towers, 
which present a feature in the landscape on the eastern shore of the river, 
to voyagers on the Hudson. This great work was completed, and the 
water opened to the use of the inhabitants of New York, in the autumn 
of 1842. Its cost w\as about $12,000,000. AVe shall meet with it 
frequently in our future tour towards the city. 

The " High Bridge " over the Croton, at the old head of the navigation, 
was a wooden, rickety structure, destined soon to fall in disuse and 
absolute decay, because of a substantial new bridge, then being 




VENTILATORS. 



constructed across the head of the bay, almost a mile below, by which the 
route from Croton to Sing Sing would be much shortened. Here was the 
"Croton Bridge" of revolutionary times, frequently mentioned in 
connection with military movements between New York and the High- 
lands ; and here is now the scene of most important experiments in the 
production of malleable iron from the ore, by a simple process, which, if 
successful, would produce a marked change in the iron manufticture. It 
is a process of deoxidizing iron ore in a heated hollow screw, out of which, 
when the process is completed, it drops into the furnace, avoids all fluxes, 
and comes out "blooms" of the finest iron. Mr. Itogers, the inventor, 



: 



THE HUDSON. 



311 



claimed that by this process there would be a saving of from eight to 
twelve dollars a ton in the production of iron — a matter of great 
importance to such isolated districts as that of the Adirondack works at 
the sources of the Hudson already mentioned. It was from Bayley's 
rolling mill, at the foot of the rapids in the Croton, just above the old 
High Bridge, where these experiments were going on, that I made the 
sketch of that dilapidated affair, just at sunset. 

Crossing the bridge, I strolled down the right bank of the Croton, along 




HIGH DKllK.t U\ tK TH,. C1.0i(J.\. 



the hio-h margin of the stream, to the Yan Cortlandt Manor House, 
passing the old Ferry House on the way, where a party of ]S"ew York 
levies, under Captain Daniel Williams, were surprised by some British 
horsemen in the winter of 1782. At the entrance gate to the mansion 
grounds, at twilight, I met Colonel Pierre Yan Cortlandt, the present 
proprietor, and accepted his cordial invitation to partake of the hospitalities 
of his house for the night. 

The Yan Cortlandt Manor House stands near the shore of Croton Bay. 
It was erected at the beginning of the last centuiy, by John Yan 



312 



THE HUDSON. 



Cortlandt, eldest sou of the first lord of the manor, and is now more than 
one hundred and fifty years old. Orloff Stevenson Van Cortlandt, father 
of the first proprietor of this estate, was a lineal descendant of the Dukes 
of Courland, in Russia. His ancestors emigrated to Holland, when 
deprived of the Duchy of Courland. The family name was Stevens, or 
Stevenscn, van (or from) Courland. They adopted the latter as u 
surname, the true orthography of which, in Dutch, is Korte (short), and 




VAN COETLANDT MANOI! HOISE. 



landt (land), a term expressing the I'orm of the ancient Ducliy of Courland. 
Orloff emigrated to America, and settled in New Amsterdam (New York), 
and in 1697 his son Stephen purchased the large estate on the Hudson, 
afterwards known as the Yan Cortlandt Manor. ]5y intermarriages, the 
Yan Cortlandts are connected with nearly all of the leading families of 
New York — the Schuylcrs, Beekmans, A"an Rcuselacrs, Do Pcystcrs, Do 
Lancys, Bayards, &c. The Manor ITousc was Luilt of heavy stone; and 



THE HUDSON. 313 



the thick walls were pierced with loopholes for musketry to be used in 
defence against the Indians, It has been somewhat changed in aspect, 
by covering the round stone with stucco. Its front, graced by a pleasant 
lawn, commands an extensive view of the bay, and of the Hudson beyond. 
In that bay, under the shelter of Croton Point, Hendrick Hudson 
anchored the Half-Moon^ on the evening of the first of October, 1609; 
and such a resort were these waters for canvas-back ducks, and other 
water-fowl, that, as early as 1683, Governor Dongan came there to enjoy 
the sport of fowling. There, too, great quantities of shad were caught. 
But its glory is departed. The flood of 1841, that swept away the Croton 
Dam, almost filled the bay with earth ; it is accumulating there every 
hour ; and, in the course of a few years, the Yan Cortlandt estate will 
have many acres of fine meadow land added to it, where once large vessels 
misht ride at anchor. 




CHAPTER XVII. 

HE Yan Cortlandt mansion, of which a sketch appears 
in the last Chapter, is clustered with historic associa- 
tions. It was the summer home of the master, whose 
town residence was a stately one for the colonial 
times. There, at early, as well as at later, periods, 
the wealthy and the high-born of the land frequently assembled 
as guests. Erom its broad piazza the famous "VVhitefield preached 
to a large audience upon the lawn. There, in 1774, Governor 
Tryon, and Edmund Fanning, his secretary, came on a mission 
of bribery to General Van Cortlandt, who had espoused the cause of the 
colonists. They offered him lands and titles for his allegiance to the 
crown, but they were refused. Under that roof the illustrious "Washington 
was a frequent guest when the army was in that vicinity ; and the parlour 
was once honoured by the presence of the immortal Eranklin. There 
may be seen many mementoes of the past : the horns of a stag killed on 
the manor, when deer ran wild there ; the buttons from the yager coat 
worn by one of the captors of Andre ; a box made of the wood of the 
Endeavour, the ship in which Cook navigated the globe, et cetera. 

On the morning after my arrival, accompanied by Mrs. Van Cortlandt, 
I rode to the village of Croton, a mile distant, to visit one of twin sisters, 
who were ninety years old in August, I860.*' On our way we turned 
into the cemetery of the Van Cortlandt family, upon a beautiful point of 
land, commanding an extensive view of the Hudson southward. A little 
west of the cemetery, at the neck of land which connects Croton Point 
with the main, stood the old fort or castle of Jutch-a-ican, said to have 
been one of the most ancient Indian foi'tresses south of the Highlands. 
It was built by the Sachem Croton, when he assembled his parties for 

* These sisters were living at the beginning of lSi36. 



THE HUDSON. 315 



hunting or war. In a beautiful nook, a little east of the site of the fort, 
on the borders of Haunted Hollow, is the Kitch-a-wan burying-ground. 
Around this locality hovers the memory of many a weird story of the 
early times, when the superstitious people believed that they often saw, 
in the groves and glens there, the forms of the departed red men. They 
called them the "Walking Sachems of Teller's Point. 

"We visited one of the twin sisters at Croton, Mrs. Miriam "Williams. 
Her memory of long-past events seemed very faithful, but the mind of 
her sister had almost perished with age. They had both lived in that 
vicinity since their birth, having married and settled there in early life. 
Mrs. "Williams had a perfect recollection of ^Yashington, when he was 
quartered with the army near Yerplanck's Point. On one occasion, she 
said, he dismounted in front of her father's house, and asked for some 
food. As he entered, the twins were standing near the door. Placing 
his hands upon their heads, he said, "You are as alike as two eggs. May 
you have long life." He entered with her father, and the childi-en peeped 
curiously in at the door. A morsel of food and a cup of cold water was 
placed upon the table, when Washington stepped forward, laid his hand 
iipon the board, closed his eyes, and reverently asked a blessing, their 
father having, meanwhile, raised his hat from his head. "And here," 
said Mrs. "Williams, pointing to a small oval table near her, " is the very 
table at which that good man asked a blessing." 

From the little village of Croton, or Collaberg Landing, I rode to the 
dwelling of a friend (James Cockroft, Esq.), about two miles northward, 
passing on the way the old house of Tellar (now Moodie), where the 
incident just related occurred. Accompanied by Mr. Cockroft and his 
neighbour, J. AV. Frost, Esq., I climbed to the summit of Prickly Pear 
Hill (so called from the fact that a species of cactus, called Prickly Pear, 
grows there abundantly), almost five hundred feet above the river, from 
which may be obtained the most extensive and interesting views in all 
that region. Prom no point on the Hudson can be seen, at a glance, such 
a cluster of historic localities, as from this eminence. Here Washington 
was encamped in 1782, and made this pinnacle his chief observatory. At 
one sweep of the vision may be seen the lofty ranges of the Highlands, 
and the Pish Kill Mountains, with all the intervening country adjacent 



316 



THE HUDSON. 



to Peek's Kill, Yerplanck's and Stony Points, the theatres of important 
military events during the war for independence; Haverstraw, where 
Arnold and Andre had their conference ; Teller's Point, off which the 
Vulture lay, and from which she received a cannonading that drove her 
down the river ; King's Perry, where Andre crossed the Hudson ; the 
place of Pine's Bridge on the Croton, where he was suspected; Tarrytown, 
where he was captured, and the long wharf of Piermont, near Tappan, 
where he was executed. All of these, with the villages on the eastern 







VIKW FKOM I'ltUlvLi I'LAl. KILL. 

shore of the Hudson, from Crugcr's to York Island, may be seen from 
tliis hill. Before it lies Haverstraw Bay, the widest expanse of the 
Hudson, with all its historic and legendary associations, which limited 
space forbids us to portray. Here the fresh and salt water usually con- 
tend most equally for the mastery; and here the porpoise,* a sea- water 



* Porpoise con.tniniis; penns Plioariia, supposed to be tlie Tiirsio of Pliny. It is from four to eight 
feet in length, nearly of a black colour above, and whitish beneath. They arc found in all our northern 
seas and bays. They swim in shoals, and pursue other fishes up bays and rivers, with the avidity of 
liounds after pame. in fine weather they leap, roll, and tumble, in great glee, especially in late spring 
time. They yield a very fine oil. 



THE HUDSON. 



317 



iish, is often seen in large numbers, sporting in the summer sun. Here 
in the spring, vast numbers of shad are caught while on their way to 
spawning places in fresh-water coves ; and here, at all seasons, most 
delicious fish may be taken in great abundance. All things considered, 
this is one of the most interesting points for a summer residence to be 
found on the Hudson. 

The highways, on land and water, from the Croton to the Spuyteu 
Duyvil Creek, at the head of York Island, pass through exceedingly 
beautiful and picturesque scenery, made classical to the American mind 



-?S:^--Si 




poEroisii. 



because of most interesting historical associations. On the west side of 
the Hudson, seen by the traveller on road, railway, or river, is a bold 
mountain shore, having a few cultivated slopes and pleasant villages as 
fur down as the lower extremity of Tappan Bay. From that point there 
are presented, for about twenty miles southward, perpendicular walls of 
rock, with bases in buttress form, called the Palisades, fronting imme- 
diately on, and rising several lumdred feet above, the river. On the east 
the voyager sees a beautiful, high, undulating country, well cultivated, 
and sprinkled with villages and hamlets. 



318 



THE HUDSON. 



The drive from Sing Sing to King's Bridge at Spuyten Duyvil Creek, 
along the old post-road, is attractive at all seasons of the year, but more 
especially in spring and early siimmer, when the trees are in leaf, because 
of the ever-varying aspects of the landscape. Fine mansions and villa 
residences are seen on every side, where, only a few years ago, good taste 
was continually offended by uncouth farmhouses, built for utility only, 




LrJi.NJiEAL WAHU'S MASSIO>. 



without a single thought of harmony or beauty. Noav all is changed, 
and the eye is as continually pleased. 

One of the finest of the older country seats in this region was the 
mansion of General Aaron "Ward, overlooking the village of Sing Sing, 
and commanding a very extensive view of the Hudson and its distant 
shores. General "Ward is one of the most distinguished men in "Westchester 



THE HUDSON. 319 



County, and is descended from an early settler in that region. He was 
an officer in the American army during the war with Great Britain in 
1812 — 15, and at its close conducted the first detachment of the British 
prisoners from the States to Canada. Law was his chosen profession, 
and in 1825 he became a law-maker, by election to the Lower House of 
the National Congress, He was an active and efficient worker, and the 
satisfaction of his constituency was certified by their retaining him as 
their representative, by re-election, twelve out of eighteen consecutive 
years. He assisted in framing the present constitution of the State of 
New York, in 1846, and since then has declined invitations to public 
service. During the years 1859 and 1860, he visited Egypt and the 
Holy Land. His narrative of his journey, published under the title of 
" Around the Pyramids," is considered one of the most truthful produc- 
tions of its kind from the pen of an American. Sing Sing owes much to 
General Ward's enterprise and public spirit, and he is sincerely honoured 
and beloved in the community where he resides. 

Pleasant residences — some embowered, others standing out in the 
bright sunlight near groves and woods — delight the eye more and more as 
we approach the large village of Tarrytown, twenty-seven miles from 
New York. Of these the most conspicuous between the little hamlet of 
Scarborough, below Sing Sing and Tarrytown, is that of Mr. Aspinwall, 
a wealthy New York merchant. Near it was the residence of General 
James AVatson Webb, then the veteran editor and proprietor of the New 
York Courier and Inquirer, and well known, personally, and by reputation, 
in both hemispheres as a gentleman of rare abilities as a journalist. At 
the beginning of the Civil War, General Webb was appointed resident 
minister at the court of Pedro II., emperor of Brazil, in which position 
he continued during the entire struggle. 

Approaching Tarrytown, we observe upon the left of the highway an 
already populous cemetery, covering the crown and slopes of a gentle hill. 
Near its base is an ancient church, and a little beyond it flows a clear 
stream of water, which the Indians called Po-can-te-co, signifying a " run 
between two hills." It makes its way in a swift current from the back 
country, between a hundred hills, presenting a thousand scenes of 
singular beauty in its course. The Dutch named it Slaeperigh Haven 



320 



THE HUDSON. 



Kill, or Sleepy Haven Creek, and the valley in the vicinity of the old 
church, through which it flowed, Slaeperigh Uol, or Sleepy Hollow, the 
scene of "Washington Irving's famous legend of that name. 

The little old church is a curiosity. It was built, says an inscription 
upon a small marble tablet on its front, by "Frederic Philips and 
Catharine Yan Cortland, his wife, in 1699," and is the oldest church 
edifice existing in the State of I^ew York. It was built of brick and 
stone, the former imported from Holland for the purpose. Over its little 




ANCIENT DUTCH CHUBCH. 



spire still turns the flag-shaped vane of iron, in which is cut the monogram 
of its founder (VF in combination, his name being spelt in Dutch, 
Yedryck Flypsen) ; and in the little tower hangs the ancient bell, 
bearing the inscription in Latin, '^ If God he for us, tvho can be against us? 
1685." The pulpit and communion table were also imported from 
Holland. The former was long since destroyed by the iconoclastic hand 
of "improvement." 

At this quiet old church is the opening of Sleepy Hollow, upon the 
shores of the Hudson, and near it is a rustic bridge that crosses the 



THE HUDSON. 



321 



Po-can-te-co, a little below the one made famous iu Irving' s legend by an 
amusing incident.^' In this vicinity, according to the legend, Ichabod 




SLEEPY HOLLOW BRIDGE. 



Crane, a Connecticut schoolmaster, instructed " tough, wrong-headed, 



* " Over a deep, black part of the stream, not far from the church," says Mr. Irving, in his " Legend 
of Sleepy Hollow," " was fomierly thrown a wooden bridge ; the road that led to it, and the biidge 
itself, were thickly shaded by overhanging trees, which cast a gloom about it even in tlie daylime, but 
occasioned a fearful darkness at night." 



T T 



322 THE HUDSON. 



broad-skirted, Dutch urchins" in the rudiments of learning. He was 
also the singing-master of the neighbourhood. Kot far off lived old 
Baltus Van Tassel, a well-to-do farmer, whose house was called IFolf erf's 
Roost. He had a blooming and only daughter named Katrina, and 
Ichabod was her tutor in psalmody, training her voice to mingle sweetly 
with those of the choir which he led at Sabbath-day worship in the 
Sleepy Hollow Church. Ichabod "had a soft and foolish heart toward 
the sex." He fell in love with Katrina. He found a rival in his suit in 
stalwart, bony Brom Van Brunt, commonly known as Brom Bones. 
Jealousies arose, and the Dutchman resolved to drive the Yankee school- 
master from the country. 

Strange stories of ghosts in Sleepy Hollow were believed by all, and by 
none more implicitly than Ichabod. The chief goblin seen there was 
that of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon 
ball. This spectre was known all over the country as " The Headless 
Horseman of Sleepy Hollow." 

Ichabod was invited to a social evening party at the house of Van 
Tassel. He went with alacrity, and borrowed a lean horse called Gun- 
powder for tlie journey. Brom Bones was also there. "When the 
company broke up, Ichabod lingered to have a few words with Katrina. 
He then bestrode Gunpowder, and started for home. "When within half 
a mile of the old church, a horse and rider, huge, black, and mysterious, 
suddenly appeared by his side. The rider was headless, and to the 
horror of the pedagogue it was discovered that he carried his head in his 
hand, on the pommel of his saddle. Ichabod was half dead with fear. 
He urged Gunpowder forward to escape the demon, but in vain. The 
headless horseman followed. The walls of the old church appeared in 
the dim starlight of the midnight hour. The log bridge, in the deep 
shadows of the trees, was near. " If I can but reach that bridge," 
thought Ichabod, " I shall be safe." Just then he heard the black steed 
panting and blowing close behind him ; he even fancied that he felt his 
hot breath. Another convulsive kick in the ribs and old Gunpowder 
sprang upon the bridge : he thundered over the resounding planks ; he 
gained the opposite side ; and now Ichabod cast a look behind to see if 
his pursuer would vanish, according to rule, in a flash of fire and brim- 



THE HUDSON. 323 



stone. Just tlieii he saw the goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very 
act of hurling his head at him. Ichabod endeavoured to dodge the 
horzible missile, but too late ; it encountered his cranium with a terrible 
crash ; he was tumbled headlong into the dust, and Gunpowder, the black 
steed, and the goblin rider, passed like a whirlwind. A shattered 
pumpkin was found in the road the next day, and Brom Jones not 
long afterwards led Katrina Van Tassel to the altar as his bride. 
Ichabod was never heard of afterwards. The people always believed he 
had been spirited away by the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, 
who, on that occasion, some knowing ones supposed to have been a being 
no more ghostly than Brom Bones himself. 

Let us climb over this stile by the corner of the old church, into the 
yard where so many of the pilgrims of earth are sleeping. Here are 
mossy stones with half obliterated epitaphs, marking the graves of many 
early settlers, among whom is one, upon whose monumental slab it is 
recorded, that he lived until he was " one hundred and three years old," 
and had one hundred and twenty-four children and grandchildren at the 
time of his death ! Let us pass on up this narrow winding path, and 
cross the almost invisible boundary between the old ''graveyard" and 
the new " cemetery." Here, well up towards the summit of the hill near 
the " receiving vault," upon a beautiful sunny slope, is an enclosure 
made of iron bars and privet hedge, with open gate, inviting entrance. 
There in line stand several slabs of white marble, only two feet in height, 
at the head of as many oblong hilloclis, covered with turf and budding 
spring flowers. Upon one of these, near the centre, we read : — 

WASHINGTON, 

SOX OF 

■WILLIAM AND 

SABAH S. lEVING, 

DIED 

KOV. 28, 1S59, 

AGED 76 VEAES 7 MO. 

AND 25 DAYS. 

This is the grave of the immortal Geoffrey Crayon I ^' Upon it lie 

« In the Episcopal Church at Tarrytown, in which jMi'. Irving was a conimunicaut for many years, a 
small marble tablet has been placed by the vestry, with an appi'opriate inscription to his memory. 



324 



THE HUDSON. 



wreaths of withered flowers, which have been killed by frosts, and buried 
by drifts of lately departed snow. These will not long remain, for all 
summer long fresh and fragrant ones are laid upon that honoured grave 




IKVIXG'S GKAVE. 



by fair hands that pluck them from many a neighbouring garden. Here, 
at all times, these sweet tributes of aftection may be seen, when the trees 
are in leaf. 



THE HUDSON. 325 



This lovely burial spot, from which may be seen Sleepy Hollow, the 
ancient church, the sparkling waters of the Po-can-te-co, spreading out 
into a little lake above the picturesque old dam at the mill of Castle 
Philipse, Sleepy Hollow Haven, Tappan Bay and all its beautiful 
surroundings, was chosen long ago by the illustrious author of the 
"Sketch-Book," as his final resting-place. Forty years ago, in Birming- 
ham, three thousand miles away from the spot where his remains now 
repose, and long before he even dreamed of converting Wolfert's Roost 
into Sunnyside, he wrote thus concerning Sleepy Hollow, in his introduc- 
tion to the legend : — 

"iS'ot far from this village [Tarrytown], perhaps about two miles, 
there is a little valley, or rather a lap of land, among high hills, which is 
one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides 
through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose ; and the 
occasional whistle of a quail, or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the 

only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquillity If 

ever I should wish for a retreat, whither I might steal from the world 
and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled 
life, I know of none more promising than this little valley." 

When, more than a dozen years ago, the Tarrytown Cemetery was laid 
out, Mr. Irving chose the plot of ground where his remains now lie, for 
his family burial-place. A few years later, when the contents of the 
grave and vaults in the burial-ground of the ''Brick Church" in Kew 
York, were removed, the remains of his family were taken to this spot 
and interred. A gentleman who accompanied me to the grave, super- 
intended the removal. Mr. Irving had directed the remains to be so 
disposed as to allow himself to lie by the side of his mother. And when 
the burial was performed, the good old man stood thoughtfully for awhile, 
leaning against a tree, and looking into his mother's grave, as it was 
slowly filled with the earth. Then covering his face with his hands he 
wept as tenderly as a young child. According to his desire he now rests 
by the side of that mother, whom he loved dearly ; and at his own left 
hand is reserved a space for his only surviving brother, General Ebenezer 
Irving, ten years his senior, who yet (1866) resides at Sunnyside at the 
age of about ninety-four years. 



326 THE HUDSON. 



The remains of Mr. Irving's old Scotch nurse were, at his request, 
buried in the same grave with his mother. Of this faithful woman Mr. 
Irving once said, — "I remember General Washington perfectly. There 
was some occasion when he appeared in a public procession ; my nurse, 
a good old Scotch woman, was very anxious for me to see him, and held 
me up in her arms as he rode past. This, however, did not satisfy her ; 
so the next day, when walking with me in Broadway, she espied him in 
a shop ; she seized my hand, and darting in, exclaimed in her bland 
Scotch, — ' Please your excellency, here's a bairn that's called after ye ! ' 
General "Washington then turned his benevolent face full upon me, smiled, 
laid his hand upon my head, and gave me his blessing, which," added 
Mr. Irving, "I have reason to believe has attended me through life. I 
was but five years old, yet I can feel that hand upon my head even now." 
Mr. Irving's last and greatest literary work was an elaborate life of 
Washington, in five octavo volumes. 

We have observed that the Po-can-te-co, flowing through Sleepy 
Hollow, spreads out into a pretty little lake above an ancient and 
picturesque dam, near the almost as ancient church. This little lake 
extends back almost to the bridge in the dark weird glen, and furnishes 
motive power to a very ancient mill that stands close by Philipse Castle, 
as the more ancient manor-house of the family was called. The first lord 
of an extensive domain in this vicinity, purchased from the Sachem 
Goharius, in 1680, and which was confirmed by royal patent the same 
year, was a descendant of the ancient Viscounts Felyps, of Bohemia, who 
took an active part in favour of John Huss and Jerome of Prague. Here, 
at the mouth of the Po-can-te-co, he erected a strong stone house, with 
port and loop holes for cannon and musketry, and also a mill, about the 
year 1683. Because of its heavy ordnance, it was called Castle Philipse. 
At that time the extensive marsh and meadow land between it and the 
present railway was a fine bay, and quite large vessels bore freight to 
and from the mill. Here, and at the lower manor-house at Yonkers, the 
lords of Philipse' s Manor lived in a sort of feudal state for almost a 
century, enjoying exclusive social and political privileges. The proprietor 
in possession when the war for independence broke out, espoused the cause 
of the crown. His estates were confiscated, and a relative of the family, 



f 



THE HUDSON. 



327 



Gerardus Beekman, became the purchaser of the castle and many broad 
acres adjoining it. In that family it remained until the spring of I860 
(about three quarters of a century), when Mr. Storm, the present 
proprietor, purchased it. Beekman made a large addition to the Castle. 
In our little picture it is seen as it appeared in the time of the Philipscs. 
In the basement wall, near the rear of the building, may be seen a port- 
hole in which the muzzle of a cannon was seen for full half a century, as 




PHILIPSE'S MILL-DAM. 



a menace to any hostile intruders who might come up Po-can-tc-co Bay, 
which is now filled with earth, and is a fine marsh meadow. 

Upon an eminence eastward of Philipse Castle and the ancient church, 
whose base is washed by the Po-can-te-co, is Irving Park, a domain of 
about one hundred acres, which was laid out by Charles H. Lyon, Esq., 
for the purpose of villa sites, that should have all the advantages of highly 



328 



THE HUDSON. 



ornamented grounds, pleasant neighbourhood, retirement, and extensive 
and varied views of a beautiful country, at a moderate expense. From 
this hill, and its river slopes, comprehensive views may be had of some of 
the most charming scenery of the lower Hudson. From its summit, 
overlooking Sleepy Hollow, the eye commands a sweep of the Hudson 
from New York to the Highlands, a distance of fifty miles, and views in 
five or six counties in the States of New York and New Jersey. From the 
veranda of one of the cottages in the park, most charming glimpses may 




PillLlPSE CASTLE. 



be obtained of portions of the village of Tarrytown,--' near, with its wharf 
and railway station ; and of the Palisades below Piermont, the village of 
Piermont and its pier jutting into the Hudson a mile from the shore, the 
village of Rockland (formerly Sneden's Landing), and the intervening 



* The natives called this place A-Hp-conck, or Place of Elms, that tree having been abundant thei'e 
in early times, and still tiourishes. The Dutch called it Terwen Dorp, or Wheat Town, because that 
cereal grew luxuriantly upon the Greenburgh Hills and valleys around. As usual, the English retained 
a part of the Dutch name, and called it Terwe Town, from which is derived the modern pronunciation, 
'J'aiTj'town. In the legend of " Sleepy Hollow," Mr. Irving says, — " The name was given, we are told, 
in former days by tlie good housewives of the adjacent country, from the inveterate propensity of their 
husbands to linger about the village taverns on market days." So they called it Tarrytown. 



THE HUDSON. 



329 



river with its numerous water-craft. Our little picture of that scene 
gives some idea of the delights of a residence within Irving Park, afforded 
by broad views of nature in its lovely aspects, and the teeming commerce 
of a great river. Besides these attractions there are pleasant views of the 
Po-can-te-co, as it dashes through Sleepy Hollow in swift rapids and 
sparkling cascades, from various portions of the park. And all of these, 




DISTANT VIEW AT TAKRYTU\\.N. 



with the pleasant roads and paths, belong to the owners of dwellings 
within the park. The proprietor of an acre of ground and his family may 
take their morning walk or evening drive through miles of varied scenery, 
without going into the public road, and with the agreeable consciousness 
of being on their own premises. 

Soon after leaving the Po-can-te-co, on the way towards Tarrytown, a 

V TJ 



330 



THE HUDSON. 



fine monument of white Westchester marble, about twenty-five feet in 
height, is seen at the side of the highway, and on the margin of a little 
stream called Andre's Brook. It is surrounded by an iron railing, and 
upon a tablet next to the road is the following inscription, which explains 
the object of the monument : — 

" On this spot, the 22nd day of September, 1780, the spy, Major John 




VIEW OX THE 1'0-CAN-TE-CO FROM IRVING PARK. 



Andre, Adjutant-general of the British army, was captured by John 
Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Yan Wart, all natives of this county. 
History has told the rest. 

"The people of Westchester County have erected this Monument, as 
well to commemorate a great event as to testify their high estimation of 
that integrity and patriotism which, rejecting every temptation, rescued 



THE HUDSON. 



331 



the United States from most imminent peril, by baffling the arts of a Spy 
and the plots of a Traitor. Dedicated October 7, 1853." 

The land on which this monument stands was given for the purpose, by 
William Taylor, a coloured man, who lives in a neat cottage close by, 
surrounded by ornamented grounds, through which flows Andre's Brook. 
Hon, Henry J. Raymond, editor of the Kew Yorh Baihj Times, addressed 




MONUMENT AT TARRYTOWN. 



the multitiide on the occasion of the dedication. Monuments of white 
marble have been erected to the memory of two of the captors of Andre, 
over their respective remains. That to Paulding is in the burial-ground 
of St. Peter's Church, near Peek's Kill, It was erected by the corporation 
of the city of New York, as "a memorial sacred to pitblic gkatitcde," 
William Paulding, then mayor of Kew York, addressed the assembled 



332 THE HUDSON. 



citizens on the occasion of its dedication, November 22, 1827. The 
monument to the memory of Van Wart is over his remains in the 
Greenburgh Presbyterian Church, near the lovely Neperan river, a few 
miles from Tarrytown. It was dedicated on the 11th of June, 1820, when 
the assembled citizens were addressed by General Aaron Ward, of Sing 
Sing. The monument was erected by the citizens of Westchester County. 
The remains of Williams are at Livingstonville, Schoharie County ; no 
monument has yet been erected over them. 

"History has told the rest," says the inscription upon the monument. 
In the next Chapter we will observe what history says. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

|E have already observed the progress of Arnold's 

treason, from its inception to his conference with 

Andre at the house of Joshua Hett Smith. There 

we left them, Andre being in possession of sundry 

valuable papers, revealing the condition of the post 

to be surrendered, and a pass. He remained alone with his 

troubled thoughts all day. The VnUure, as we have seen, had 

dropped down the river, out of sight, in consequence of a 

cannonade from a small piece of ordnance upon the extremity of 

Teller's Point, sent there for the purpose by Colonel Henry 

Livingston, who was in command at Yerplanck's Point, a few miles 

above. 

In the afternoon Andre solicited Smith to take him back to the Vidttire. 
Smith refused, with the false plea of illness — but he offered to travel half 
the night with the adjutant- general if he would take the land route. 
There was no alternative, and Andre was compelled to yield to the force 
of circumstances. He consented to cross the King's Perry (from Stony to 
Yerplanck's Point), and make his way back to Xew York by land. He 
exchanged his military coat for a citizen's dress, placed the papers re- 
ceived from Arnold in his stockings under his feet, and at a little 
before sunset on the evening of the 22nd of September, accompanied by 
Smith and a negro servant, all mounted, made his way towards King's 
Ferry, bearing the following pass, in the event of his being challenged 
within the American lines : — 

^^Head-quarters, Robinson'' s House, Sej)f. 22, 1780, 

" Permit Mr. John Anderson to pass the Guards to the White Plains, 
or below, if he chooses, he being on public business by my direction. 

" IL Aenold, JIdJor- General." 



334 THE HUDSON. 



At twilight they passed through the works at Verplanck's Point, unsus- 
pected, and then turned their faces towards the White Plains, the interior 
route to I^ew York. Andi-e was moody and silent. He had disoheyed 
the orders of his commander by receiving papers, and was involuntarily 
a spy, in every sense of the word, within the enemy's lines. Eight miles 
from Yerplanck's they were hailed by a sentinel. Arnold's pass was 
presented, and the travellers were about to pass on, when the officer on 
duty advised them to remain until morning, because of dangers on the 
road. After much persuasion, Andre consented to remain, but passed a 
sleepless night. At an early hour the party were in the saddle, and at 
Pine's Bridge over the Croton, Andre, with a lighter heart, parted com- 
pany with Smith and his servant, having been assured that he was then 
upon the neutral ground, beyond the reach of the American patrolling 
parties. 

Andre had been warned to avoid the Cow Boys. These were bands of 
Tory marauders who infested the neutral ground. He was told that they 
were more numerous upon the Tarrytown road than that which led to the 
"White Plains. As these were friends of the British, he resolved to travel 
the Tarrytown or river road. He felt assured that if he should fall into 
the hands of the Cow Boys, he would be taken by them to New York, his 
destination. This change of route was his fatal mistake. 

On the morning when Andre crossed Pine's Bridge, a little band of 
seven volunteers went out near Tarrytown to prevent the Cow Boys 
driving the cattle to New York, and to arrest any suspicious travellers 
upon the highway. Three of these — Paulding, Yan "Wart, and "Williams — 
were under the shade of a clump of trees, near a spring on the borders of 
the stream just mentioned, and now known by the name of Andre's 
Brook, playing cards, when a stranger appeared on horseback, a short 
distance up the road. His dress and manner were different from ordinary 
travellers seen in that vicinity, and they determined to step out and 
question him. Paulding had lately escaped from captivity in New York, 
in the dress of a German Yager, the mercenaries in the employment of 
the British ; and on seeing him, Andre, thereby deceived, exclaimed, 
*' Thank God ! I am once more among friends." But Paulding presented 
his musket, and ordered him to stop. "Gentlemen," said Andre, "I 



THE HUDSON. 335 



hope you belong to our party?" "What party?" asked Paulding. 
"The Lower Party" (meaning the British), Andre replied. "I do," 
said Paulding; when Andre said, " I am a British officer, out in the 
country on particular business, and I hope you will not detain me a 
minute." Paulding told him to dismount, when Andre, conscious of his 
mistake, exclaimed, "My God! I must do anything to get along;" and 
with a forced good-humour, pulled out General Arnold's pass. Still they 
insisted upon his dismounting, when he warned them not to detain him, 
as he was on public business for the General. They were inflexible. 
They said there were many bad people on the road, and they did not 
know but he might be one of them. He dismounted, when they took 
him into a thicket, and searched him. They found nothing to confirm 
their suspicions that he was not what he represented himself to be. They 
then ordered him to pull off his boots, which he did without hesitation, 
and they were about to allow him to dress himself, when they observed 
something in his stockings under his feet. When these were removed 
they discovered the papers which Arnold had put in his possession. 
Finding himself detected, he ofl'ered them bribes to let him go. They 
refused ; and he was conducted to the nearest American post, and delivered 
to a commanding officer. That officer, with strange obtuseness of percep- 
tion, was about to send the prisoner to General Arnold with a letter 
detailing the circumstances of his arrest, when Major Tallmadge, a bright 
and vigilant officer, protested against the measure, and expressed his 
suspicions of Arnold's fidelity. But Jamieson, the commander, only half 
yielded. He detained the prisoner, but sent the letter to Arnold. That 
was the one which the traitor received while at breakfast at Beverly 
(Robinson's House), and which caused his precipitate flight to the Vulture, 
The circumstances of that flight have already been narrated. 

Andre wrote a letter to Washington, briefly but frankly detailing the 
events of his mission, and concluded, after relating how he was conducted 
to Smith's House, and changed his clothes, by saying, "Thus, as I have 
had the honour to relate, was I betrayed (being adjutant- general of the 
British army) into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise within 
your posts." 

Washington ordered Andre to be sent first to West Point, and then to 



386 



THE HUDSON. 



Tappan, an inland hamlet on the west side of the Hudson opposite Tarry- 
town, then the head-quarters of the American army. There, at his own 
quarters, he summoned a board of general officers on the 29th of Septem- 
ber, and ordered them to examine into the case of Major Andre, and 
report the result. He also directed them to give their opinion as to the 
light in which the prisoner ought to be regarded, and the punishment 
that should be inflicted. Andre was arraigned before them, on the same 
day, in the church not far from AVashington's quarters. He made to 




WASHINGTON'S HEAB-^UARTEES AT TAPPAN. 



them the same truthful statement of facts which he gave in his letter to 
Washington, and remarked, "I leave them to operate with the board, 
persuaded that you will do me justice." He was remanded to prison ; 
and after long and careful deliberation, the board reported " That Major 
Andre, adjutant-general of the British army, ought to be considered as a 
spy from the enemy, and that agreeably to the law and usage of nations, 
it is their opinion he ought to suffer death." 

Washington approved the sentence on the 30th, and ordered his execu- 
tion the next day at five o'clock in the afternoon. The youth, candour, 



THE HUDSON. 



337 



gentleness, and honourable bearing of the prisoner made a deep impression 
on the court and the commander-in-chief. Had their decision been in 
consonance with their feelings instead of their judgments and the stern 
necessities of war, he would never have suffered death. There was a 
general desire on the part of the Americans to save him. The only mode 
was to exchange him for Arnold, and hold the traitor responsible for all 
the acts of his victim. Sir Henry Clinton was a man of nice honour, and 
would not be likely to exhibit such bad faith towards Arnold, even to 
save his beloved adjutant-general. Nor would "Washington make such a 
proposition. He, however, respited the prisoner for a day, and gave others 
an opportunity to lay an informal proposition of that kind before Clinton. 
A subaltern went to the nearest British outpost with a letter from Wash- 
ington to Clinton, containing the official proceedings of the court-martial, 
and Andre's letter to the American commander. That subaltern, as in- 
structed, informed the messenger who was to bear the packet to Sir Henry, 
that he believed Andre might be exchanged for Arnold. This was com- 
municated to Sir Henry. He refused compliance, but sent a general 
officer up to the borders of the neutral ground, to confer with one from 
the American camp on the subject of the innocence of Major Andre. 
General Greene, the president of the court, met General Eobertson, the 
commissioner from Clinton, at Dobbs' Ferry. The conference was fruitless 
of results favourable to Andre. 

The unfortunate young man was not disturbed by the fear of death, but 
the vimwer 'was a subject of great solicitude to him. He wrote a touching 
letter to Washington, asking to die the death of a soldier, and not that of 
a spi/. Again the stern rules of war interposed. The manner of death 
must be according to the character given him by the sentence. All hearts 
were powerfully stirred by sympathy for him. The eqiiiti/ of that sentence 
was not questioned by military men ; and yet, only inexorable expediency 
at that hour when the Eepublican cause seemed in the greatest peril, 
caused the execution of the sentence in his case. The sacrifice had to be 
made for the public good, and the prisoner was hung as a spy at Tappan 
at noon on the 2nd of October, 1780. 

It is said that Washington never saw Major Andre, having avoided 
a personal interview with him from the beginning. Unwilling to give 

X X 



338 



THE HUDSON. 



him unnecessary pain, Washington did not reply to his letter asking for 
the death of a soldier, and the unhappy prisoner was not certain what 
was to be the manner of his execution, until he was led to the gallows. 
The lines of Miss Anne Seward, Andre's friend, commencing, 

" Washington 1 I tliouglit thee great and good, 
Nor knew thy Nero-thirst for guiltless blood, 
Severe to use the power that fortune gave, 
Thou cool, determined murderer of the brave!" 

were unjust, for he sincerely commiserated the fate of the prisoner, and 
would have made every proper sacrifice to save him. 




AKDEE S PEN AKD INK SKETCH. 



Major Andre was an accomplished young man, and a clever amateur 
artist. He was perfectly composed from the time that his fate was made 
known to him. On the day fixed for his execution, he sketched with pen 
and ink a likeness of himself sitting at a table, and gave it to the officer 
of his guard, who had been kind to him. It is preserved in the Trumbull 
Gallery of pictures, at Yale College, in Connecticut. 

Major Andre was buried at the place of his execution. In 1832, his 
remains were removed, under instructions of his Iloyal Highness the Duke 



THE HUDSON. 



339 



of York, by James Buchanan, the British consul at JSTew York, and de- 
posited in a grave near a monument in Westminster Abbey, erected by 
his king not long after his death. It is a mural monument, in the form 
of a sarcophagus, standing on a pedestal. It is surmounted by Britannia 
and her lion. On the front of the sarcophagus is a basso-relievo, in which 
is represented General Washington and his officers in a tent at the moment 




ANDRE'S MONUMENT. 



when he received the report of the court of inquiry. At the same time a 
messenger is seen with a flag, bearing a letter from Andre to Washington. 
On the opposite side is a guard of Continental soldiers, and the tree on 
which Andre was hung. Two men are preparing the prisoner for execu- 
tion, in the centre of this design. At the foot of the tree sit Mercy and 



340 THE HUDSON. 



Innocence bewailing his fate. Upon a panel of the pedestal is the fol- 
lowing inscription : — " Sacred to the memory of Major John Andre, 
who, raised by his merit at an early period of his life to the rank of 
Adjutant- General of the British forces in America, and employed in an 
important but hazardous enterprise, fell a sacrifice to his zeal for his king 
and country, on the 2nd of October, a.d. 1780, universally beloved and 
esteemed by the army in which he served, and lamented even by his foes. 
His gracious sovereign, King Geoege the Thied, has caused this monu- 
ment to be erected." On the base is a record of the removal of his 
remains from the banks of the Hudson to their final resting-place near 
the banks of the Thames. Such is the sad story, in brief outline, of the 
closing days of the accomplished Andre's life. Arnold, the traitor, was 
despised even by those who accepted his treason for purposes of state ; and 
his hand never afterwards touched the palm of an honourable Englishman. 
In his own country, he had ever occupied the '* bad eminence " of arch 
traitor, until the beginning of the year 1861 ; others now bear the 
palm. 

Upon a high and fertile promontory below Tarrytown, may be seen one 
of the finest and purest specimens of the Pointed Tudor style of domestic 
architecture in the United States, the residence of Philip R. Paulding, Esq., 
and called Paulding Manor. It was built in 1840. Its walls are of the 
Mount Pleasant or Sing Sing marble. The whole outline, ground and 
sky, is exceedingly picturesque, there being gables, towers, turrets, and 
pinnacles. There is also a great variety of windows decorated with 
mullions and tracery ; and at one wing is a Port CocTiere, or covered 
entrance for carriages. It has a broad arcaded piazza, affording shade 
and shelter for promenading. The interior is admirably arranged for 
convenience and artistic effect. The drawing-room is a spacious apart- 
ment, occupying the whole of the south wing. It has a high ceiling, 
richly groin-arched, with fan tracery or diverging ribs, springing from 
and supported by columnar shafts. The ceilings of all the apartments of 
the first story are highly elegant in decoration. " That of the dining- 
room," says Mr. Downing, "is concavo-convex in shape, with diverging 
ribs and ramified tracery springing from corbels in the angles, the centre 
being occupied by a pendant. In the saloon the ribbed ceiling forms two 



THE HUDSON. 



341 



inclined planes. Tlie floor of the second story has a much larger area 
than that of the first, as the rooms in the former project over the open 
portals of the latter. The spacious library, over the western portal, 
lighted by a lofty window, is the finest apartment of this story, with its 
carved foliated timber roof rising in the centre to twenty-five feet." The 
dimensions of this room are thirty-seven by eighteen feet, including an 
organ gallery. Ever since its erection, Paulding Manor has been the 
most conspicuous dwelling to be seen by the eye of the voyager on the 
Lower Hudson. 




PAULDING MANOR. 



About three miles below Turrytown is Sunnyside, the residence of the 
late "Washington Irving. It is reached from the public road by a winding 
carriage-way that passes here through rich pastures and pleasant wood- 
lands, and then along the margin of a dell through which runs a pleasant 
brook, reminding one of the merry laughter of children as it dances away 
riverward, and leaps, in beautiful cascades and rapids, into a little bay a 
few yards from the cottage of Sunnyside. There, more than fifteen years 
ago, I visited the dear old man whom the world loved so well, and who 



342 



THE HUDSON. 



SO lately was laid beneath the greensward on the margin of Sleepy Hollow, 
made classic by his genius. Then I made the sketch of Sunnyside here 
presented to the reader. It was a soft, delicious day in June, when the 
trees were in full leaf and the birds in full song. I had left the railway- 
cars a fourth of a mile below where the germ of a village had just ap- 
peared, and strolled along the iron road to a stile, over which I climbed, 




-? — " 'd^^^^^ 



8rNNV!>IliK 



and ascended the bank by a pleasant path to the shadow of a fine old 
cedar, not far from the entrance gate. There I rested, and sketched the 
quaint cottage half shrouded in English ivy. Its master soon, appeared 
in the porch, with a little fair-haired boy whom he led to the river bank 
in search of daisies and buttercups. It was a pleasant picture, and yet 
there was a cloud-shadow resting upon it. His best earthly affections 



f 



THE HUDSON. 343 



had been buried, long years before, in the grave with a sweet young lady 
who had i^romised to become his bride. Death interposed between the 
betrothal and the appointed nuptials. He remained faithful to that first 
love. Throughout all the vicissitudes of a long life, in society and in 
solitude, in his native land and in foreign countries, on the stormy ocean 
and in the repose of quiet homes, he had borne her miniature in his 
bosom in a plain golden case, and upon his table, for daily use, always 
lay a small Bible, with the name of his lost one, in the delicate hand- 
writing of a female, upon the title-page. As I looked upon that good 
man of gentle, loving nature, a bachelor of sixty-five, I thought of his 
exquisite picture of a true woman, in his charming little story of " The 
Wife," and wondered whether his own experience had not been in 
accordance with the following beautiful passage in his " Newstead 
Abbey," in which he says: — "An early, innocent, and unfortunate 
passion, however fruitful of pain it may be to the man, is a lasting 
advantage to the poet. It is a well of sweet and bitter fancies, of 
refined and gentle sentiments, of elevated and ennobling thoughts, shut 
up in the deep recesses of the heart, keeping it green amidst the withering 
blights of the world, and by its casual gushings and overflowings, 
recalling at times all the freshness, and innocence, and enthusiasm of 
youthful days." 

I visited Sunnyside again only a fortnight before the death of 
Mr. Irving. I found him in his study, a small, quiet room, lighted by 
two delicately curtained windows, one of which is seen nearest the porch, 
in our little sketch of the mansion. From that window he could see far 
down the river ; from the other, overhung with ivy, he looked out upon 
the lawn and the carriage-way from the lane. In a curtained recess was 
a lounge with cushions, and books on every side. A large easy-chair, 
and two or three others, a writing-table with many drawers, shelves 
filled with books, three small pictures, and two neat bronze candelabra, 
completed the furniture of the room. It was warmed by an open grate 
of coals in a black variegated marble chimney-piece. Over this were the 
three small pictures. The larger represents "A literary party at Sir 
Joshua Eeynolds's." The other two were spirited little pen-and-ink 
sketches, with a little colour — illustrative of scenes in one of the earlier 



344 



THE HUDSON. 



of Mr. Irving's works — "Knickerbocker's History of New York" — 
which he picked up in London many years ago. One represented 
Stuyvesant confronting Eisingh, the Swedish governor; the other, 
Stiiyvesant's wrath in council. 

Mr. Irving was in feeble health, but hopeful of speedy convalescence. 
He expressed his gratitude because his strength and life had been spared 




ieving's study. 



until he completed the greatest of all his works, his '' Life of 
Washington." "I have laid aside my pen for ever," he said; "my 
work is finished, and now I intend to rest." He was then seven years 
past the allotted age of man, yet his mental energy seemed unimpaired, 
and his genial good-humour was continually apparent. I took the first 
course of dinner with him, when I was compelled to leave to be in time 



THE HUDSON. 345 



for the next train of cars that would convey me home. He arose from 
the table, and passed into the little drawing-room with me. At the door 
he took my hand in both of his, and with a pleasant smile said, " I wish 
you success in all your undertakings. God bless you." 

It was the last day of the "Indian summer," in 1859, a soft, balmy, 
glorious day in the middle of liovember. The setting sun was sending a 
blaze of red light across the bosom of Tappan Bay, when I left the porch 
and followed the winding path down the bank to the railway. There 
was peaccfulness in the aspect of all nature at that hour, and I left 
Sunnyside, feeling sensibly the influence of a good man's blessing. Only 
a fortnight afterwards, on a dark, stormy evening, I took up a newspaper 
at an inn in a small village of the Valley of the Upper Hudson, and read 
the startling announcement, ^^ Death of Washington Irving^ I felt as if 
a near and dear friend had been snatched away for ever. I was too far 
from home to be at the funeral, but one of my family, very dear to me, 
was in the crowd of sincere mourners at his grave, on the borders of 
Sleepy Hollow. The day was a lovely one on the verge of winter, and 
thousands stood reverently around, on that sunny slope, while the earth 
was cast upon the coffin and the preacher uttered the solemn words, 
" Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Few men ever went to 
the tomb lamented by more sincere friends. From many a pulpit his 
name was spoken with reverence. Literary and otlier societies through- 
out the laud expressed their sorrow and respect. A thousand pens wrote 
eulogies for the press, and Bryant, the poet, his life-long friend, pro- 
nounced an impressive funeral oration not long afterwards, at the request 
of the New York Historical Society, of which Mr. Irving was a member. 

I visited Sunnyside again in May, 1860, and after drinking at the 
mysterious spring,* strolled along the brook at the mouth of the glen, 
where it comes down in cascades before entering the once beautiful little 
bay, now cut off from free union with the river by the railway. The 



* This spring is at tlie foot of the bank on the verj' brink of the river. " Tradition declares," says 
Mr. Irviiig in his admirable story of " Wolfert's Eoost," " that it was smuggled over from Holland in 
a churn bj' Femmetie Van Blarcom, wife of Goosen Garrett ■\'an Blarcom, one of the fli'st settlers, and 
that she took it up by night, unknown to her husband, from beside their fami-house near Botterdam ; 
being sure she should find no water equal to it in the uew country— and she was right." 



346 



THE HUDSON. 



channel was full of crystal water. The tender foliage was casting delicate 
shadows where, at this time, there is half twilight under the umbrageous 
branches, and the trees arc full of warblers. It is a charming spot, and is 







THE BROOK AT SLN.NVSIDE. 



consecrated by many memories of Irving and his friends who frequented 
this romantic little dell when the summer sun was at meridian. 

After sketching the brook at the cascades, I climbed its banks, crossed 



THE HUDSON. 



347 



the lane, and Avandered along a shaded path by a gardener's cottage to a 
hollow in the hills, filled with water, in which a bevy of ducks were 
sporting. This pond, which Mr. Irving playfully called his " Meditcr- 




THE PON'D, OR "MEDITERRANEAN SEA." 



ranean Sea," was made by damming the stream, and thus a pretty 
cascade at its outlet was formed. It is in the shape of the " palm leaf" 
that comes fi-om the loom. On one side a wooded hill stretches down to 



348 THE HUDSON. 



it abruptly, leaving only space enough for a path, and on otliers it 
washes the feet of gentle grassy slopes. This is one -of the many 
charming pictures to be found in the landscape of Sunnyside. After 
strolling along the pathways in various directions, sometimes finding 
myself upon the domains of the neighbours of Sunnyside (for no fence or 
hedge barriers exist between them), I made my way back to the cottage, 
where the eldest and only surviving brother of Mr. Irving, and his 
daughters, reside. These daughters were always as children to the late 
occupant, and by their affection and domestic skill they made his home a 
delightful one to himself and friends. But the chief light of that 
dwelling is removed, and there are shadows at Sunnyside that fall darkly 
upon the visitor who remembers the sunshine of its former days, for, as 
his friend Tuckerman wrote on the day after the funeral, — 

" He whose fancy wove a spell 
As lasting as tlie scene is fair, 
Ami made the mountain, stream, and dell. 
His own di-eam-life for ever sliare ; 

" He who vi-itli England's household's grace, 
And with the brave romance of Spain, 
Tradition's lore and Nature's face, 
Imbued his visionary brain : 

"Mused in Granada's old arcade 

As gush'd the Moorish fount at noon, 

With the last minstrel thoughtful stray'd, 

To ruin'd shrines beneath the moon ; 

"And breathed the tenderness and wit 
Thus garner'd, in expression pure. 
As now his thoughts with humom* Hit, 
And now to pathos wiselj' lure ; 

" Who traced with sympathetic hand 
Our peerless chieftain's liigh career. 
His life tliat gladdeu'd all the land. 
And blest a home— is ended here !" 

There was a fascination about Mr. Irving that drew every living 
creature towards him. His personal character, like his writings, was 
distinguished by extreme modesty, sweetness, and simplicity. "He was 
never willing to set forth his own pretensions," wrote a friend, after his 
death ; "he was willing to leave to the public the care of his literary 



THE HUDSON. 349 



reputation. He had no taste for controversy of any sort ; his manners 
were mild, and his conversation, in the society of those with whom he 
was intimate, was most genial and playful." James Eussell Lowell has 
given the following admirable outline of his character : — 

" But allow me to speak what I humbly feel, — 
To a true poet-heart add the fun of Dick Steele 
Throw ill all of A&dison, -minus the chill ; 
With the whole of that partnership's stock and good- will, 
Mix well, and while stirring, hum o'er as a spell, 
The fine old English Gentleman ; simmer it well. 
Sweeten just to your o\\7i private lilting, then strain, 
Tliat only the finest and purest remain ; 
Let it stand out of doors till a soul it receives 
From the warm, lazy sun loitering do'^i through green leaves, 
And you'll find a choice nature, not wholly deserving 
A name either English or Yankee— just Irving." 

I must remember that I am not writing an eulogy of Mr. Irving, but 
only giving a few outlines with pen and pencil of his late home on the 
banks of the Hudson. Around that home sweetest memories will ever 
cluster, and the pilgrim to Sunnyside will rejoice to honour those who 
made that home so delightful to their idol, and who jnstly find a place 
in the sunny recollections of the departed. 

Around that cottage, and the adjacent lands and waters, Irving's genius 
has cast an atmosphere of romance. The old Dutch house — one of the 
oldest in all that region — out of which grew that quaint cottage, was a 
part of the veritable "Wolfert's Roost — the very dwelling wherein occurred 
Katrina Van Tassel's memorable quilting frolic, that terminated so 
disastrously to Ichabod Crane, in his midnight race with the Headless 
Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. There, too, the veracious Dutch historian, 
Diedrich Knickerbocker, domiciled while he was deciphering the precious 
documents found there, '* which, like the lost books of Livy, had baffled 
the research of former historians." But its appearance had sadly changed 
when it was purchased by Mr. Irving, about thirty years ago, and was 
by him restored to the original form of the Roost, which he describes as 
" a little, old-fashioned stone mansion, all made up of gable ends, and as 
full of angles and corners as an old cocked hat. It is said, in fact," 
continues Mr. Irving, "to have been modelled after the cocked hat of 
Peter the Headstrong, as the Escurial was modelled after the gridiron of 



350 



THE HUDSON. 



the blessed St. Lawrence." It was built, the clironicler tells us, by 
Wolfert Acker, a privy councillor of Peter Stuyvesant, "a worthy, but 
ill-starred man, whose aim through life had been to live in peace and 
quiet." He sadly failed. "It was his doom, in fact, to meet a head 
wind at every turn, and be kept in a constant fume and fret by the 
perverseness of mankind. Had he served on a modern jury, he would 
have been sure to have eleven unreasonable men opposed to him." He 
retired in disgust to this then wilderness, built the gabled house, and 




MOLFF.UT'S lUIOSr 'WIIKN Iln'JNi; }'1'RI11ASF1) IT. 



"inscribed over the door (his teeth clenched at the time) his favourite 
Dutch motto, 'Lust in Hust' (pleasure in quiet). The mansion was 
tliencc called AYolfert's Rust (Wolfert's Rest), but by the uneducated, 
who did not understand Dutch, "VVolfert's Eoost." It passed into the 
hands of Jacob Yan Tassel, a valiant Dutchman, who espoused the cause 
of the Republicans. The hostile ships of the British were often seen in 
Tappan Bay, in front of the Roost, and Cow Boys infested the land 
thereabout. Van Tassel had much trouble : his house was finally 
plundered and burnt, and he was carried a prisoner to New York. When 



THE HUDSON. 351 



the war was over, he rebuilt the lloost, but in more modest style, as seen 
in our sketch. "The Indian spring" — the one brought from llotterdam 
— "still welled up at the bottom of the green bank; and the wild 
brook, wild as ever, came babbling down the ravine, and threw itself 
into the little cove where of yore the water-guard harboured their 
whale-boats." 

The "water-guard" was an aquatic corps, in the pay of the revolu- 
tionary government, organised to range the waters of the Hudson, and 
keep watch upon the movements of the British. The Roost, according 
to the chi'onicler, was one of the lurking-places of this band, and Van 
Tassel was one of their best friends. He was, moreover, fond of warring 
upon his " own hook." He possessed a famous " goose-gun," that Avould 
send its shot half-way across Tappan Bay. "When the belligerent 
feeling was strong upon Jacob," says the chronicler of the Roost, "lie 
Avould take down his gun, sally forth alone, and prowl along shore, 
dodging behind rocks and trees, watching for hours together any ship or 
galley at anchor or becalmed. So sure as a boat approached the shore, 
bang ! went the great goose-gun, sending on board a shower of slugs and 
buck shot." 

On one occasion, Jacob and some fellow bush-fighters peppered a 
British transport tint had run aground. "This," says the chronicler, 
" was the last of Jacob's triumphs ; he fared like some heroic spider that 
has unwittingly ensnared a hornet, to the utter ruin of its web. It was 
not long after the above exploit tliat he fell into the hands of the enemy, 
in the course of one of his forays, and was carried away prisoner to New 
York. The Roost itself, as a pestilent rebel nest, was marked out for 
signal punishment. The cock of the Roost being captive, there was none 
to garrison it but his stout-hearted spouse, his redoubtable sister, Notchie 
Van Wurmer, and Dinah, a strapping negro wench. An armed vessel 
came to anchor in front ; a boat full of men pulled to shore. The 
garrison flew to arms, that is to say, to mops, broomsticks, shovels, 
tongs, and all kinds of domestic weapons, for, unluckily, the great piece 
of ordnance, the goose-gun, was absent with its owner. Above all, a 
vigorous defence was made with that most potent of female weapons, the 
tongue ; never did invaded hen-roost make a more vociferous outcry. It 



352 THE HUDSON. 



was all in vain ! The house was sacked and plundered, fire was set to 
each room, and in a few moments its blaze shed a baleful light over the 
Tappan Sea. The invaders then pounced upon the blooming Laney Yan 
Tassel, the beauty of the Eoost, and endeavoured to bear her off to the 
boat. But here was the real tug of war. The mother, the aunt, and. the 
strapping negro wench, all flcAV to the rescue. The struggle continued 
down to the very water's edge, when a voice from the armed vessel at 
anchor ordered the spoilers to desist; they relinquished their prize, 
jumped into their boats, and pulled off, and the heroine of the Eoost 
escaped with a mere rumpling of the feathers." 




"^'y^ 



^^m 



CHAPTER XIX. 




LOSE by Sunnyside is one of those marvellous villages 
with which America abounds : it has sprung up like a 
mushroom, and bears the name of Irvington, in com- 
pliment to the late master of Sunnyside. A dozen 
years ago not a solitary house was there, excepting 
that of Mr. Dearman, the farmer who owned the land. Pier- 
mont, directly opposite, Avas then the sole eastern terminus of 
the great New York and Erie Railway, and here seemed to be 
,''v an eligible place for a village, as the Hudson River Railway 

was then almost completed. Mr. Dearman had one surveyed 
upon liis lands ; streets were marked out, village lots were measured and 
defined ; sales at enormous prices, which enriched the owner, were made, 
and now upon that farm, in pleasant cottages, surrounded by neat 
gardens, several hundred inhabitants are dwelling. One of the most 
picturesque of the station-houses upon the Hudson River Railway is 
there, and a ferry connects the village with Piermont. Morning and 
evening, when the trains depart for and arrive from New York, many 
handsome vehicles may be seen there. This all seems like the work of 
magic. Over this beautiful slope, where so few years ago the voyager 
upon the Hudson saw only woodlands and cultivated fields, is now a 
populous town. The owners arc chiefly business men of Xew York, 
whose counting rooms and parlours are within less than an hour of each 
other. 

Less than a mile below Irvington, and about half way between that 
village and Dobbs's Ferry, is the beautiful estate of Xevis, the home and 
property of the Honourable James A. Hamilton, eldest surviving son of 
the celebrated General Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the 
republic of the United States."' It stands on the brow of the river slope, 



Nevis is the name of one of a group of the Antilles, where General Hamilton was bom. 

z z 



354 



THE HUDSON. 



in the midst of a charming lawn, that extends from the highway to the 
Hudson, a distance of half a mile, and commands some of the finest and 
most extensive views of that portion of the river. The mansion is large, 
and its interior elegant. It presents many attractions to the lover of 
literature and art, aside from the delightful social atmosphere with 
which it is filled. There may be seen the library of General Hamilton, 
one of the choicest and most extensive in the country at the time of his 
death. There, too, may be seen a portrait of Washington, by Stuart, 




VIKW AT IRVIXGTO-S.' 



painted for General Hamilton, in 1798, when, in expectation of a war 
with France, the United States organised a provisional government, and 
appointed him acting commanding general under the cx-president 
(Washington), who consented to be the chief. 

On the river bank of the Nevis estate is a charming little cottage, 
completely embowered, where Mr. Irving was a fren[uent and delighted 



I 



* From this point tlie traveller southward first obtains a good view of the Palisades on the west side 
of the river. 



THE HUDSON. 



355 



visitor. It is the summer residence of Mr. Schuyler (a grandson of 
General Schuyler), Mr. Hamilton's son-in-law. Near it is a more 
pretentious residence belonging to Mr. Elatchford, another son-in-law of 
the proprietor of "Nevis." "Within call of these pleasant retreats is the 
superb residence of Mr. Cottinet, a wealthy New York merchant, built in 
French style, of Caen stone. Thi?, in point of complete elegance, 




externally and internally, is doubtless superior to any other dwelling on 
the banks of the Hudson. The grounds about it are laid out with much 
taste, and exhibit many delightful landscape effects. 

Dobbs's Perry, a considerable village, twenty-two miles from New 
Yoi'k, was a place of some note a century ago ; but the town has been 
mostly built within the last fifteen years. The Indian name was Weec- 



356 



THE HUDSON. 



ques-guch, signifying the place of the Bark Kettle. Its present name is 
from Dobbs, a Swede from the Delaware, one of the earliest settlers on 
Phili-pse's Manor. The village is seated pleasantly on the river front of 
the Greenburgh Hills, and is the place of summer residence for many New 
York families. Here active and important military operations occurred 
during the war for independence. There was no fighting here, but in the 
movement of armies it was an important point. Upon the high bank, a 
little south-east from the railway station, a redoubt was built by the 




Americans at an early period of the war. Fiom near that spot our little 
sketch was taken, whicli included the long pier at Picrmont, the village 
of Nyack, and the range of hills just below Haverstraw, off which the 
Vulture lay, and at the foot of which Arnold and Andre met. Several 
other redoubts were cast up in this vicinity ; these commanded the ferry 
to Paramus, afterwards Sneden's Landing, and now Kockland. 

Near Dobbs's Ferry the British rendezvoued, after the battle at "White 
Plains, in October, 1770; and at Hastings, a mile below, a British force 
of six thousand men, under Lord Coruwallis, crossed the river to Paramus, 



THE HUDSON. 



357 



marched to the attack at Fort Lee, and then pursued the flj'ing Americans 
under Washington across New Jersey to the Dela-svare river. Here, in 
1777, a division of the American army, under General Lincoln, was 
encamped ; and here was the spot first appointed as the meeting-place of 
Andre and Arnold. Circumstances prevented the meeting, and it was 
postponed, as we have already observed. Here, in the mansion of Yan 
Brugh Livingston, General Greene met the chief of three commissioners 
from General Sir Henry Clinton, in conference concerning Major Andre. 




\ii-,u' >KAi; iiAsiiM.;.-. 



General Robertson was the chief, and he had strong hopes, by imparting 
information from General Clinton, to save the life of his young friend. 
Beverly Robinson accompanied them as a witness. They went up in the 
Greyhound schooner, with a flag of truce, but only General Robertson was 
permitted to land. Greene met Robertson as a private gentleman, by 
permission of Washington, and not as an officer. He was willing to listen, 
but the case of an acknowledged spy admitted of no discussion. The 
subject was freely talked over, and Greene bore from Robertson a verbal 
message to "Washington, and a long explanatory and threatening letter 



358 



THE HUDSON. 



from Arnold. No new facts bearing upon the case were presented, and 
nothing was offered that changed the minds of the court or the command- 
ing general. So the conference was fruitless. 

The Livingston mansion, owned by Stephen Archer, a Quaker, is 
preserved in its original form ; under its roof, in past times, many 
distinguished men have been sheltered. Washino;ton had his head- 




LIVINGSTON MANSION. 



quarters there towards the close of the revolution ; and there, in l^ovember, 
1783, Washington, George Clinton, "the civil governor of the State of 
New York," and Sir Guy Car]eton, the British commander, met to confer 
on the subject of prisoners, the loyalists, and the evacuation of the city of 
New York by the British forces. The former came down the river from 
Newburg, with their suites, in barges ; the latter, with his suite, came 



THE HUDSON. 



359 



lip from Xe\v York in a frigate, Four companies of American li^ht 
infantry performed the duties of a guard of honour on that occasion. 
Opposite Dobbs's Ferry and Hastings is the most picturesque portion of 




iirn: palisalu 



the " Palisades," to which allusion has several times been made. These 
are portions of a ridge of trap-rocks extending along the "western shore of 



360 THE HUDSON. 



the Hudson from near Haverstraw almost to Hoboken, a distance of about 
thirty-five miles. Between Piermont and Hoboken, these rocks present, 
for a considerable distance, an uninterrupted, rude, columnar front, from 
300 to 500 feet in height. They form a mural escarpment, columnar in ap- 
pearance, yet not actually so in form. They have a steep slope of debris, 
which has been crumbling from the cliffs above, during long centuries, by 
the action of frost and the elements. The ridge is narrow, being in some 
places not more than three-fourths of a mile in width. It is really an 
enormous projecting trap-dyke. On the top and among the debris, in 
many places, is a thin growth of trees. On the western and southern 
sides of the range, the slope is gentle, and composed generally of rich soil 
covered with trees. Below Tappan it descends to a rich valley, through 
which a railway now passes. 

Viewed from the river this i\ange presents a forbidding aspect; and little 
does the traveller dream of a fertile, smiling country at the back of this 
savage front. Several little valleys break through the range, and give 
glimpses of the hidden landscape beauties behind the great wall. In the 
bottoms of these the trap-dyke appears; so the valleys are only depressions 
in the range, not fractures. 

Several bluffs in the range exceed 400 feet in height. The most 
elevated of all is one nearly opposite Sing-Sing, Avhich juts into the river 
like an enormous butti'ess, and is a prominent object from every point on 
the Hudson between New York and the Highlands. It rises 660 feet 
above tide-water. The Dutch named it Verdrietigh-Uocch — Grievous or 
Vexations Point or Angle — because in navigating the river they were apt 
to meet suddenly, off this point, adverse and sometimes cross winds, that 
gave them much vexation. The Palisades present a most remarkable 
feature in the scenery of the Lower Hudson, 

Yonkers is the name of a large and rapidly-growing village about four 
miles below Hastings, and seventeen from New York. Its recent growth 
and prosperity are almost wholly due to the Hudson River llailway, which 
furnishes such travelling facilities and accommodations, that hundreds of 
buiness men in the city of New York have chosen it for their summer 
residences, and many of them for their permanent dwelling-places. Like 
Sing-Sing, Tarrytown, Irvington, and Dobbs's Ferry, it has a hilly and 



THE HUDSON. 361 



exceedingly picturesque country around ; and through it the dashing 
Neperah, or Saw-Mill Eiver, after flowing many miles among the 
Greenburgh hills, finds its way into the Hudson in a series of rapids and 
cascades. It forms a merry feature in the scenery of the village. 

Tonkers derives its name from Yonkheer — Young Master or Lord — the 
common appellation for the heir of a Dutch family. It is an old 
settlement, lands having been purchased here from the sachems by some 
of the Dutch "West India Company as early as the beginning of Peter 
Stuyvesant's administration of the affairs of Now Netherland.* Here was 
the Indian village of Nap-pe-clxa-malc^ a name signifying "the rapid water 
settlement." This was the name of the stream, afterwards corrupted to 
Neperah, and changed by the Dutch and English to Saw-Mill Iliver. 
Those utilitarian fathers have much to answer for, because they expelled 
from our geographical vocabulary so many of the beautiful and significant 
Indian names. 

To the resident, the visitor, and the tourist, the scenery about Yonkers 
is most attractive ; and the delightful roads in all directions invite 
equestrian and carriage excursionists to real pleasure. Those fond of 
boating and bathing, fishing and fowling, may here find gratification 
at proper seasons, within a half-hour's ride, by railway, from the 
metropolis. 

The chief attraction at Yonkers for the antiquary is the Philipse Manor 
Hall, a spacious stone edifice, that once belonged to the lords of Philipse 
Manor. The older portion was built in 1682. The present front, forming 
an addition, was erected in 1745, when old " Castle Philipse," at Sleepy 
Hollow, was abandoned, and the Manor Hall became the favourite 
dwelling of the family. Its interior construction (preserved by the present 
owner, the Hon. W. W. Woodworth, with scrupulous care) attests the 
wealth and taste of the lordly proprietor. The great Hall, or passage, is 

* Tlie domain included in tlie towns of Yonkers, West Farms, and Morrisania was purcliased of the 
Indians by Adi-iaen Van der Donck, the "first lawyer in New Netherland," and confirmed to him in 
1616 b)' gi-ant from the Dutcli West India Compan}-, with the title and privilege of Patroon. It con- 
tained 24,000 acres. He called it Colen Donck, or Donck's Colony. Van der Donck. who died in 1655, 
was an active man in New Amsterdam (now New York), and took part with the people against the 
governor when disputes arose. He wrote an interesting description of the country. After the English 
conquest of New Netherland, Frederick Philipse and others purchased a greater portion of his estate on 
the Hudson and Harlem rivers. 

.3 A 



362 



THE HUDSON. 



broad, and the staircase capacious and massive. The rooms are large, 
and the ceilings are lofty ; all the rooms are wainscoted, and the chief 
apartment has beautiful ornamental work upon the ceiling, in high relief, 
composed of arabesque forms, the figures of birds, dogs, and men, and 
two medallion portraits. Two of the rooms have carved chimney-pieces 
of grey Irish marble. The guest-chamber, over the drawing-room, is 




PIIILIPSE MANOR II.WI, 



handsomely decorated, with ornamental architecture, and some of the fire- 
places are surrounded with borders of ancient Dutch tiles. The well has 
a subterranean passage leading from it, nobody knows to where ; and the 
present ice-house, seen on the right of the picture, composed of huge 
walls and massive arch, was a powder-magazine in the " olden time." 
Altogether, this old hall — one of the antiquities of the Hudson — is an 



THE HUDSON. 



363 



attractive curiosity, which the obliging proprietor is pleased to show to 
those who visit it because of their reverence for things of the past. It 
possesses a bit of romance, too ; for here was born, and here lived, Mary 
Philipse, whose charms captivated the heart of young Washington, but 
whose hand was given to another, as we shall observe hereafter. 

In the river, in front of Tonkers, the Half- Moon, Henry Hudson's 




THE " IIALF.MOON. 



exploring vessel, made her second anchorage after leaving New York Bay. 
It was toward the evening of the 12th of September, 1609 ; the explorer 
had then been several days in the vicinity of Man-na-hat-ta, as the Indians 
called the island on which New York stands, and had had some inter- 
course with the natives. " The twelfth," says " Master Ivet (Juet) of 
the Lime House," who Avrote Hudson's journal, " faire and hot. In the 



364 THE HUDSON. 



afternoon, at two of the clockc, wee weighed, the winde being variable, 
betweene the north and the north-west. So we turned into the Hiuer 
two leagues, and anchored. This morning, at ovr first rode in the Riuer, 
there came eight-and-twentie Canoes full of men, women, and children, to 
betray vs ; but we saw their intent, and suffered none of them to come 
abord of vs. At twelue of the clocke they departed ; they brought with 
them Oysters and Beanes, whereof wee bought some. They have great 
tobacco-pipes of Yellow Copper, and Pots of Earth to dresse their raeate 
in." That night a strong tidal current placed the stern of i\\e Half- Moon 
up stream. That event, and the assurance of the natives that the waters 
northward, upon which he had gazed with wonder and delight, came 
from far beyond the mountains, inspired Hudson with great hope, for it 
must be remembered that his errand was the discovery of a northern 
passage to India. He now doubted not that the great river upon which 
he was floating flowed from ocean to ocean, and that his search was nearly 
over, and would be speedily crowned with success. 

A mile and a half below Yonkers, on the bank of the Hudson, is Pont 
Hill, formerly the residence of Edwin Forrest, the eminent American 
tragedian. The mansion is built of blue granite, in the English castel- 
lated form, a style not wholly in keeping with the scenery around it. It 
would have been peculiarly appropriate and imposing among the rugged 
hills of the Highlands thirty or forty miles above. The building has six 
towers, from which very extensive views of the Hudson and the sur- 
rounding country may be obtained. The flag, or stair tower, is seventy- 
one feet in height. 

To this delightful residence Mr. Forrest brought his bride. Miss 
Catherine Sinclair, daughter of the celebrated Scotch vocalist, in 1838, 
and for six years they enjoyed domestic and professional life in an eminent 
degree. Unfortunately for his future peace, Mr. Forrest was induced to 
visit England in 1844. He was accompanied by his wife. There he 
soon became involved in a bitter dispute with the dramatic critic of the 
London Examiner, and Macready the actor. This quarrel led to the 
most serious results. Out of it were developed the mob and the bloodshed 
of what is known, in the social history of the city of Kew York, as the 
"Astor Place Hiot," and with it commenced Mr. Forrest's domestic 



THE HUDSON. 



365 



troubles, which ended, as all the world knows, in the permanent separa- 
tion of himself and wife. Pont Hill, where he had enjoyed so much 
happiness, lost its charms, and he sold it to the Roman Catholic Sisters of 







lOM' HILL. 



Charity, of the Convent and Academy of Mount St. 'Vincent. This insti- 
tution was founded in 1847, and the academy was in 105th Street, between 
the Fifth and Sixth Avenues, New York. It is devoted to the instruction 



366 



THE HUDSON. 



of young ladies. The community, numbering about two hundred Sisters 
at the time of my visit, was scattered. Some were at Font 'Hill, and 
others were at different places in. the city and neighbourhood. The whole 
were under the general direction of Mother Superior Mary Angela Hughes. 
At Font Hill they erected an extensive and elegant pile of buildings, of 
which they took possession, and wherein they opened a school, on the 




MOUNT ST. VINCENT ACADEMY. 



1st of September, 1859. It was much enlarged in 1865. They had, in 
1860, about one hundred and fifty pupils, all boarders, to whom was 
offered the opportunity of acquiring a thorough education. The chaplain 
of the institution occupies the "castle." 

Two miles and a-half below Font Hill, or Mount St. Vincent, is Spyt 
den Duyvel Creek, at the head of York or Manhattan Island. This is a 



THE HUDSON. 



367 



narrow stream, winding through a little tortuous valley for a mile or 
more, and connecting, at Kingsbridge, with the Harlem River, the 
first formed by the inflowing of the tide waters of the Hudson, and 
the last by the waters of the East Eiver. At ebb-tide the currents 
part at Kingsbridge. The view from the mouth of the Spyt den 
Duyvel, over which the Hudson Eiver Railway passes, looking either 




across the river to the Palisades, as given in our sketch, or inland, 
embracing bold Berrian's Neck on the left, and the wooded head of 
Manhattan Island on the right, with the winding creek, the cultivated 
ridge on the borders of Haiiem River, and tlie heights of Fordham 
beyond, present pleasant scenes for the artist's pencil. To these 
natural scenes, history and romance lend the charm of their associations. 



368 THE HUDSON. 



Here, on the 2ncl of October, 1608, Henry Hudson had a severe fight 
with the Indians, who attacked the Half -Moon with arrows from canoes 
and the points of land, as she lay at anchor in the sheltering mouth of 
the creek. Here, too, while Governor Stuyvesant was absent on the 
Delaware, nine hundred of the river Indians encamped, and menaced the 
little town of JS^ew Amsterdam, at the lower extremity of the island, with 
destruction. Here, according to Diedrick Knickerbocker's " History of 
New York," Anthony Van Corlear, the trumpeter of Governor Stuyvesant, 
lost his life in attempting to swim across the creek during a violent storm. 
" The wind was high," says the chronicler, "the elements were in an 
uproar, and no Charon could be found to ferry the adventurous sounder 
of brass across the water. For a short time he vapoured like an impatient 
ghost upon the brink, and then bethinking himself of the urgency of his 
errand (to arouse the people to arms), he took a hearty embrace of his 
stone bottle, swore most valorously that he would swim across in spite of 
the devil [en spyt den duyvel), and daringly plunged into the stream. 
Luckless Anthony ! Scarcely had he buffeted half way over, when he 
was observed to struggle violently, as if battling with the Spirit of the 
waters. Instinctively he put his trumpet to his mouth, and giving a 
vehement blast, sank for ever to the bottom ! The clangour of his trumpet, 
like that of the ivory horn of the renowned Paladin Orlando, when ex- 
piring in the glorious field of Eoncesvalles, rang far and wide through 
the country, alarming the neighbours round, who hurried in amazement 
to the spot. Here an old Dutch burgher, famed for his veracity, and 
who had been a witness of the fact, related to them the melancholy 
aflfair ; with the fearful addition (to which I am slow in giving belief), 
that he saw the Duyvel, in the shape of a huge moss-bonker (a species 
of inferior fish) seize the sturdy Antliony by the leg, and drag him 
beneath the waves. Certain it is, the place, with the adjoining pro- 
montory, which projects into Hudson, has been called S])ijt den 
Bayvel ever since." 

During the war for independence, stirring events occurred in the 
vicinity of the Spyt den Duyvel Creek. Batteries were erected on pro- 
montories on each side of it, at its junction with the Hudson ; and in 
"Westchester County, in its immediate neighbourhood, many skirmishes 



THE HUDSON. 



3G9 



took place between Cow Boys and Skinners, Whigs and Tories, British, 
Hessians, and Indians. 

A picturesque road passes along the foot of the AYestchcster hills that 
skirt the Spyt den Duy vel Yalley, to the mouth of Tippett's Creek, which 
comes flowing down from the north through a delightful valley, at the 
back of Yonkers and the neighbouring settlements. This creek was called 
Mosh-u-la by the Indians, and the valley was the favourite residence of a 
warlike Mohegan tribe. Its lower portion was the scene of almost con- 
tinual skirmishing during a portion of the war for independence. 




THE CENTUEY HOUSE. 



Tippett's Creek is crossed by a low bridge. A few yards beyond_it is 
Kingsbridge, at the head of the Harlem Eiver, which here suddenly ex- 
pands into lake-like proportions. The shores on both sides are beautiful, 
and the view that opens towards Long Island, beyond the East Eiver, is 
charming. 

Kingsbridge has always been a conspicuous point. Land was granted 
there, in 1693, to Frederick Philipse, with power to erect a toll-bridge, 
it being specified that it should be called The King's Bridge. This was 

3 B 



370 THE HUDSON. 



the only bridge that connected Manhattan Island with the Main, and 
hence all travellers and troops were compelled to cross it, unless they had 
boats for ferrying. Here, during the war for independence, hostile forces 
were frequently confronted ; and from its northern end to the Croton 
river, was the famous "Neutral Ground" during the struggle, whereon 
neither "Whig nor Tory could live in peace or safety. Upon the heights 
each side of the bridge redoubts were thrown up ; and here, in January, 
1777, a bloody conflict occurred between the Americans, under General 
Heath, and a large body of Hessian mercenaries, under General Knyphausen. 
The place was held alternately by the Americans and British ; and little 
more than half a mile below the bridge an ancient story-and-a-half house 
is yet standing, one hundred and twenty-five years old, which served as 
head-quarters at different times for the officers of the two armies : it is 
now a house of public entertainment, and is known as *' Post's Century 
House." 







CHAPTER XX. 




I HE Harlem Eiver (called Mus-coo-ta by the Indians), 
which extends from Kingshridge to the strait between 
Long Island Sound and New York Bay, known as the 
East Iliver, has an average width of nine hundred 
feet. In most places it is bordered by narrow marshy 
flats, with high hills immediately behind. The scenery along its 
Avhole length, to the villages of Harlem and Mott Haven, is 
picturesque. The roads on both shores aff'ord pleasant drives, 
and fine country seats and ornamental pleasure-grounds, add to 
the landscape beauties of the river. A line of small steamboats, connect- 
ing with the city, traverse its waters, the head of navigation being a few 
yards above Post's Century House. The tourist will find much pleasure 
in a voyage from the city through the East and Harlem Rivers. 

The " High Bridge," or aqueduct over which the waters of the Croton 
flow from the main land to Manhattan Island, crosses the Island at One 
Hundred and Seventy-Third Street. It is built of granite. The aqueduct 
is fourteen hundred and fifty feet in length, and rests upon arches supported 
by fourteen piers of heavy masonry. Eight of these arches are eighty 
feet span, and six of them fifty feet. The height of the bridge, above 
tide water, is one hundred and fourteen feet. The structure originally 
cost about a million of dollars. Pleasant roads on both sides of the 
Harlem lead to the High Bridge, where full entertainment for man and 
horse maybe had. The ''High Bridge" is a place of great resort in 
pleasant weather for those who love the road and rural scenery. 

Abroad, macadamized avenue, called the " Kingshridge Road," leads 
from the upper end of York Island to Manhattanville, where it connects 
with and is continued by the " Bloomingdale Road," in the direction of 
the city. The drive over this road is very agreeable. The winding 



372 



THE HUDSON. 



avenu6 passes tlirougli a narrow valley, part of the way between rugged 
hills, only partially divested of the forest, and ascends to the south-eastern 
slope of Mount Washington (the highest land on the island), on which 
stands the village of Carmansville. At the upper end of this village, on 
the high rocky bank of the Harlem Eiver, is a fine old mansion, known 







THE HIGH BEIDGE.* 



as the "Morris House," the residence, until her death in 1865, of the 
widow of Aaron Burr, vice-president of the United States, but better 
known as Madame Jumcl, the name of her first husband. The mansion is 



* This view is from llie gronnds in front of tlio dwelling of Eichard Carman, Esq., former proprietor 
of all the land whereon the village of Carmansville stands. He is still owner of a verj' large estate in 
that vicinity. 



THE HUDSON. 



373 



at One Hundred and Sixty-nintli Street. It is surrounded by highly 
ornamented grounds, and its situation is one of the most desirable on the 
island. It commands a fine view of the Harlem Eiver at the High 
Bridge, to the village of Harlem and beyond ; *• also of Long Island Sound, 
the villages of Astoria and Flushing, and the green fields of Long Island. 
Nearer are seen Harlem Plains, and the fine new bridge at Macomb's Dam. 
This house was built before the old war for independence, by Eoger 
Morris, a fellow- soldier with "Washington on the field of Monongohela, 




THE HARLEM RIVER, FROM THE MORRIS HOUSE. 

where Braddock fell, in the summer of 1755. Morris was also Washing- 
ton's rival in a suit for the heart and hand of Mary, the heir of the lord 
of Philipse's Manor. The biographer says that in Eebruary, 1756, 
Colonel Washington went to Boston to confer with Governor Shirley about 
military affairs in Virginia. He stopped in New York on his return, and 



* Harlem, situated on the Harlem Eiver, between the Eighth Avenue and East Eiver, was an earlj- 
settlement on the island of Manhattan, bj- the Dutch. It was a flourishing village, chiefly bordering 
the Third Avenue, but is now a part of the great metropolis. 



374 



THE HUDSON. 



was then the guest of Beverly Eobinson. Mrs. Eohinson's sister, Mary 
Philipse, "was also a guest there, in the siimmer-time. Her bright eyes, 
blooming cheeks, great vivacity, perfection of person, aristocratic 
connexions, and prospective wealth, captivated the young Virginia 
soldier. He lingered in her presence as long as duty would permit, and 
would gladly have carried her with him to Virginia as his bride ; but his 
extreme diffidence kept the momentous question unspoken, and Roger 
Morris, his fellow aide-de-camp in Braddock's military family, bore off the 




THE MOERIS MANSION. 



prize. Morris, like his brother-in-law, Beverly Robinson, adhered to the 
crown after the American colonies declared themselves independent 
in 1776. When, in the autumn of that year, the American army under 
"Washington encamped upon Harlem Heights, and occupied Fort Washing- 
ton near, Morris fled for safety to Robinson's house in the Highlands, and 
Washington occupied his elegant mansion as his head-quarters for awhile. 
The house is preserved in its original form and materials, excepting where 
external repairs have been necessary. 



THE HUDSON. 



375 



At tlie lower extremity of Carmausville, aud about a mile above 
Manhattauville, is a most beautiful domain, as yet almost untouched by 
the hand of change. It is about eight miles from the heart of the city, 
completely embowered, and presenting a pleasing picture at every point 
of view. This was the home of General Alexander Hamilton, one of the 
founders of the Republic, and is one of the few " undesecrated " dwelling- 




THE GRANGE. 



places of the men of the last century, to be found on York Island. Near 
the centre of the ground stands the house Hamilton built for his home, 
and which he named "The Grrange," from the residence of his grand- 
father, in Ayrshire, Scotland. Then it was completely in the country — 
now it is surrounded by the suburban residences of the great city. It is 



376 THE HUDSON. 



situated about half-way between the Hudson and Harlem Rivers, and is 
reached from the Kingsbridge road by a gravelled and shaded walk. Near 
the house is a group of thirteen trees, planted by Hamilton himself, the 
year before he was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr, and named, 
respectively, after the original thirteen States of the Union. All of them 
are straight, vigorous trees, but one, and that, tradition says, he chanced 
to name South Carolina. It is crooked in trunk and branches, and 
materially disfigures the group. It well typifies the state of South 
Carolina in its past history as represented by its ruling class, which 
was composed, to a great extent, of professional politicians, who were 
arrogant, narrow, opposed to simple republican institutions, and longing 
for an alteration in the fundamental principles of their government so as to 
have political power centred in few great land and slave holders. This 
class was always crooked, always discontented and turbulent, and finally, 
in the year 1860, disgraced their State and made its name a by- word for 
all time, by an attempt to overthrow the Republic, and establish upon its 
ruins the despotism of an irresponsible oligarchy, whose basis should be 
HUJiAif SLAVERY ! They kindled a civil war which cost the nation the 
lives of almost half a million of men, and nearly three thousand millions 
of dollars. 

The "Grange" is upon an elevation of nearly 200 feet above the 
rivers, and commands, through vistas, delightful views of Harlem River and 
Plains, the East River and Long Island, and the fertile fields of Lower 
"Westchester. It is just within the outer lines of the entrenchments 
thrown up by the Americans in 1776, and is in the midst of the theatre of 
the stirring events of that year, 

Wc have now fairly entered upon Manhattan Island, in our journey ings 
from the Wilderness to the Sea, and are rapidly approaching the 
commercial metropolis of the country, seated upon its southern portion, 
where the waters of the Hudson, the East, and the Passaic Rivers 
commingle in the magnificent harbour of New York. 

This island — purchased by the Dutch of the painted savages, only two 
centuries and a half ago, for the paltry sum of twenty-four dollars, paid 
in trafiic at a hundred per cent, profit — contains tenfold more wealth, 
in proportion to its size, than any other on the face of the globe. It is 



THE HUDSON. 



thirteen and a-half miles long, and two' and a-half miles wide at its 
greatest breadth. It was originally very rough and rocky, abounding in 
swamps and conical hills, alternating with fertile spots. 

Over the upper part of the island are many pleasant roads not yet 
straightened into rectangular streets, and these afford fine recreative drives 
for the citizens, and stirring scenes when the lovers of fast horses, who 
abound in the city, are abroad. The latter are seen in great numbers in 
these thoroughfares every pleasant afternoon, when "Young America" 
takes an airing. 

Before making excursions over these ways, and observing their sur- 
roundings, let us turn aside from the Kingsbridge Road, in the direction 
of the Hudson, and, following a winding avenue, note some of the private 
rural residences that cover tbe crown and slopes of old Mount "Washington, 
now called "Washington Heights. The villas are remarkable for the taste 
displayed in their architecture, their commanding locations, and the beauty 
of the surrounding grounds derived from the mingled labour of art and 
nature. As we approach the river the hills become steeper, the road 
more sinuous, the grounds more wooded, and the general scenery on land 
and water more picturesque. One of the most charming of these 
landscapes, looking in any direction, may be found upon the road just 
above the "Washington Heights railway station, near the delightful 
residence of Thomas Ingraham, Esq. It our little sketch we are looking 
up the road, and the slopes of the beautiful lawn in front of his house. 
Turning half round, we have glimpses of the Hudson, and quite 
extended views of the bold scenery about Fort Lee, on the opposite 
shore. 

Following this road a few rods farther down the heights, we reach the 
station-house of the Hudson Eiver Railway, which stands at the southern 
entrance to a deep rock excavation through a point of Mount "Washington, 
known for a hundred years or more as Jeffrey's Hook. This point has an 
interesting revolutionary history in connection with Mount "Washington. 
At the beginning of the war, the great value, in a strategic point of view, 
of Manhattan Island, and of the river itself — in its entire length to Fort 
Edward — as a dividing line between New England and the remainder of 
the colonies, was fully appreciated by the contending parties. The 

3 c 



378 



THE HUDSON. 



Americans adopted measures early to secure these, by erecting fortifications. 
Mount "Washington (so named at that time) was the most elevated land 
upon the island, and formidable military -works of earth and stone were 




VIEW ON WASHINGTON HEIGHTS. 



soon erected upon its crown and upon the heights in the vicinity from 
Manhattanville to ICingsbridge. The principal work was Fort Washington. 
The citadel was on the crown of Mount Washington, overlooking the 



THE HUDSON. 



379 



country in every direction, and comprising within the scope of vision the 
Hudson from the Highlands to the harbour of New York. The citadel, 
with the outworks, covered several acres between One Hundred and 
Eighty-first and One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Streets. 

On the point of the chief pi'omontory of Mount "Washington jutting 
into the Hudson, known as JefFery's Hook, a strong redoubt was 




JEFFERY'S HOOK. 



constructed, as a cover to chevaux-de-frise and other obstructions placed in 
the river between that point and Fort Lee, to prevent the British ships 
going up the Hudson. The remains of this redoubt, in the form of grassy 
mounds covered with- small cedars, are prominent upon the point, as seen 
in the engraving above. The ruins of Fort Washington, in similar form, 
were also very conspicuous until within a few years, and a flag staff 



380 



THE HUDSON. 



marked the place of the citadel. But the ruthless hand of pride, forgetful 
of the past, and of all patriotic allegiance to the most cherished traditions 
of American citizens, has levelled the mounds, and removed the flag-staff; 
and that spot, consecrated to the memory of valorous deeds and courageous 
suffering, must now be sought for in the kitchen-garden or ornamental 
grounds of some wealthy citizen, whose choice celery or bed of verbenas 
has greater charms than the green sward of a hillock beneath which 
reposes the dust of a soldier of the old war for independence ! 




ASYLUM FOE THE DEAF AXD DUME. 



"Soldiers buried here?" inquires the startled resident. Yes; your 
villa, your garden, your beautiful lawn, are all spread out over the dust 
of soldiers, for all over these heights the blood of Americans, English- 
men, and Germans flowed freely in the autumn of 1776, when the fort 
was taken by the British after one of the hardest struggles of the war. 
More than two thousand Americans were captured, and soon filled the 
loathsome prisons and prison-ships of New York. 

Near the river-bank, on the south-western slope of Mount "Washington, 
13 the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, one of several 



THE HUDSON. 381 



retreats for the unfortunate, situated upon the Hudson shore of Manhattan 
Island. Tt is one of the oldest institutions of the kind in the United 
States, the act of the Legislature of New York incorporating it being dated 
on the day (April 15, 1817) when the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb 
at Hartford, Connecticut, was opened. The illustrious De "Witt Clinton 
was the first president of the association. Its progress was slow for 
several years, when, in 1831, Mr. Harvey P. Peet was installed executive 
head of the asylum, as principal : he infused life into the institution 
immediately. Its affairs were administered by his skilful and energetic 
hand during more than thirty years, and his services were marked by the 
most gratifying results. In 1845, the title of President was conferred 
upon Mr. Peet, and three or four years later he received the honorary 
degree of Doctor of Laws. He was at the head of instruction and of the 
family in the institution. Under his guidance many of both sexes, shut 
out from participation in the intellectual blessings which are vouchsafed 
to well-developed humanity, were newly created, as it were, and made to 
experience, in a degree, the sensations of Adam, as described by 
Milton : — 

" Straiglit towards heaven my wonclering eyes I turned, 
And gazed awhile tlie ample sky, till raised 
B}' quick instinctive motion, up I sprung, 
As thitherward endeavoiu'ing, and upright 
Stood on my feet ; about me round I saw 
Hill, dale, and shady woods, and sunny plains. 
And liquid lapse of murmuring streams ; by these. 
Creatures that lived, and moved, and walked, or tiew ; 
Birds on the branches warbling ; all things smiled ; 
■With fragrance and with joy my heart o'erflowed. 
Mj'self I tlien perused, and limb by limb 
Surveyed, and sometimes went, and sometimes ran. 
With supple joints, as lively vigour led ; 
But who I was, or where, or from what cause, 
Knew not; to speak I tried, cmU forthwith spoke : 
My tongue obeyed, and readily could name 
Whate'er I saw." 



The situation of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb is a delightful 
one. The lot comprises thirty-seven acres of land, between the Kings- 
bridge Poad and the river, about nine miles from the New York City 
Hall. The buildings, five in number, form a quadrangle of two hundred 



382 



THE HUDSON. 



and forty feet front, and more than three hundred feet in depth ; they 
are upon a terrace one hundred and twenty-seven feet above the river, 
and are surrounded by fine old trees, and shrubbery. The buildings are 
capable of accommodating four hundred and fifty pupils, with their 
teachers and superintendents, and the necessary domestics. 

In the midst of a delightful grove of forest trees, a short distance below 




AUDUBON'S EESIDENCE. 



the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, is the dwelling of the late 
J. J. Audubon, the eminent naturalist, where some of his family still 
reside. Only a few years ago it was as secluded as any rural scene fifty 
miles from the city ; now, other dwellings are in the grove, streets have 
been cut through it, the suburban village of Carmansville has covered the 



THE HUDSON. 383 



adjacent eminence, and a station of the Hudson Eiver llailway is almost 
in front of the dwelling. 

Audubon was one of the most remarkable men of his age, and his work 
on the " Birds of America " forms one of the noblest monuments ever 
made in commemoration of true genius. In that great work, pictures of 
birds, the natural size, are given in four hundred and eighty- eight plates. 
It was completed in 1844, and at once commanded the highest admiration 
of scientific men. Baron Cuvier said of it, — " It is the most gigantic and 
most magnificent monument that has ever been erected to Nature." 
Audubon was the son of a French admiral, who settled in Louisiana, and 
his whole life was devoted to his favourite pursuit. The story of that 
life is a record of acts of highest heroism, and presents a most remarkable 
illustration of the triumphs of perseverance. 

A writer, who visited Mr. Audubon not long before his death, in 1851, 
has left the following pleasant account of him and his residence near 
Mount "Washington : — 

*' My walk soon brought a secluded country house into view, — a house 
not entirely adapted to the nature of the scenery, yet simple and unpre- 
tending in its architecture, and beautifully embowered amid elms and 
oaks. Several graceful fawns, and a noble elk, were stalking in the 
shade of the trees, apparently unconscious of the presence of a few dogs, 
and not caring for the numerous turkeys, geese, and other domestic 
animals that gobbled and screamed around them. Nor did my own 
approach startle the wild, beautiful creatures that seemed as docile as 
any of their tame companions. 

" ' Is the master at home?' I asked of a pretty maid-servant who 
answered my tap at the door, and who, after informing me that he was, 
led me into a room on the west side of the broad hall. It was not, how- 
ever, a parlour, or an ordinary reception room that I entered, but 
evidently a room for work. In one corner stood a painter's easel, with a 
half-finished sketch of a beaver on the paper ; on the other lay the skin 
of an American panther. The antlers of elks hung upon the walls, 
stuffed birds of every description of gay plumage ornamented the mantel- 
piece, and exquisite drawings of field-mice, orioles, and woodpeckers, 
were scattered promiscuously in other parts of the room, across one end 



384 THE HUDSON. 



of which a long rude table was stretched, to hold artist's materials, scraps 
of drawing-paper, and immense folio volumes, filled with delicious 
paintings of birds taken in their native haunts. 

" ' This,' said I to myself, ' is the studio of the naturalist,' but hardly 
had the thought escaped me when the master himself made his appear- 
ance. He was a tall, thin man, with a high, arched, and serene forehead, 
and a bright, penetrating, grey eye ; his white locks fell in clusters wpon 
his shoulders, but they were the only signs of age, for his form was 
erect, and his step as light as that of a deer. The expression of his face 
was sharp, but noble and commanding, and there was something in it, 
partly derived from the aquiline nose, and partly from the shutting of 
the mouth, which made you think of the imperial eagle. 

"His greeting, as he entered, was at once frank and cordial, and 
showed you the sincere, true man. * How kind it is,' he said^ with a 
slight Trench accent, and in a pensive tone, ' to come to see me, and how 
wise, too, to leave that crazy city ! ' He then shook me warmly by the 
hand. ' Do you know,' he continued, ' how I wonder that men can 
consent to swelter and fret their lives away amid those hot bricks and 
pestilent vapours, when the woods and fields are all so near ? It would 
kill me soon to be confined in such a prison-house, and when I am forced 
to make an occasional visit there, it fills me with loathing and sadness. 
Ah ! how often, when I have been abroad on the mountains, has my heart 
risen in grateful praise to God that it was not my destiny to waste and 
pine among those noisome congregations of the city !' "''^ 

Audubon died at the beginning of 1851, at the age of seventy-one 
years. His body was laid in a modest tomb in the beautiful Trinity 
Cemetery, near his dwelling. This burial-place, deeply shaded by 
original forest trees and varieties that have been planted, affords a most 
delightful retreat on a warm summer's day. It lies upon the slopes of 
the river bank. Foot-paths and carriage-roads wind through it in all 
directions, and pleasant glimpses of the Hudson may be caught through 
vistas at many points. In the south-western extremity of the grounds, 



* " Homes of American Autliors.' 



THE HUDSON. 



385 



upon a plain granite doorway to a yault, may be seen, in raised letters, 
the name of Audubon. 

The drive from Trinity Cemetery to Manhattanville is a delightful one. 
The road is hard and smooth at all seasons of the year, and is shaded in 
summer by many ancient trees that graced the forest. From it frequent 
pleasant views of the river may be obtained. There are some fine 




VIEW IN TRINITY CEMETEBY. 



residences on both sides of the way, and evidences of the sure but stealthy 
approach of the great city are perceptible. 

Manhattanville, situated in the chief of the four valleys that cleave the 
island from the Hudson to the East River, now a pleasant suburban 
village, is destined to be soon swallowed by the approaching and rapacious 
town. Its site on the Hudson was originally called Harlem Cove. It 



386 



THE HUDSON. 



was considered a place of strategic importance in the war for independence 
and the war of 1812, and at hoth periods fortifications were erected there 
to command the pass from the Hudson to Harlem Plains, to whose verge 




MANIIATTANVILLE FROM CLAREMONT. 



the little village extends. Upon the heights near, the lloman Catholics 
have two flourishing literary institutions, namely, the Convent of the 
Sacred Heart, for girls, and the Academy of the Holy Infant, for boys. 



THE HUDSON. 



387 



Upon the high promontory overlooking the Hudson, on the south side 
of Manhattanyillc, is Jones's Clareraont Hotel, a fashionable place of 
resort for the pleasure-seekers who frequent the Bloomingdale and Kings- 
bridge roads on pleasant afternoons. At such times it is often thronged 
with visitors, and presents a lively appearance. The main, or older 
portion of the building, was erected, I believe, by the elder Dr. Post, 










CLAEEMOXT. 



early in the present century, as a summer residence, and named by him 
Claremont. It still belongs td the Post family. It was an elegant 
country mansion, upon a most desirable spot, overlooking many leagues 
of the Hudson. There, more than fifty years ago, lived Yiscount 
Courtenay, afterwards Earl of Devon. He left England, it was reported, 
because of political troubles. "When the war of 1812 broke out, he 



388 THE HUDSON. 



returned thither, leaving his furniture and plate, which were sold at 
auction. The latter is preserved with care by the family of the 
purchaser. Courtenay was a great "lion" in New York, for he was a 
handsome bachelor, with title, fortune, and reputation — a combination 
of excellences calculated to captivate the heart-desires of the opposite sex. 

Claremont was the residence, for awhile, of Joseph Buonaparte, ex-king 
of Spain, when he first took refuge in the United States, after the battle 
of Waterloo and the downfall of the !N"apoleon dynasty. Here, too, 
Francis James Jackson, the successor of Mr. Erskine, the British minister 
at Washington at the opening of the war of 1812, resided a short time. 
He was familiarly known as " Copenhagen Jackson," because of his then 
recent participation in measures for the seizure of the Danish fleet by the 
British at Copenhagen. He was politically and socially unpopular, and 
presented a strong contrast to the polished Courtenay. 

Manhattanville is the northern termination of the celebrated Blooming- 
dale Road, which crosses the island diagonally from Union Square at 
Sixteenth Street, to the high bank of the Hudson at One Hundred and 
Fifteenth Street. It is a continuation of Broadway (the chief retail 
business street of the city), from Union Square to Harsenville, at Sixty- 
Eighth Street. In that section it is called Broadway, and is compactly 
built upon. Beyond Seventieth Street it is still called Bloomingdalc 
Road — a hard, smooth, macadamised highway, broad, devious, and 
undulating, shaded the greater portion of its length, made attractive by 
many elegant residences and ornamental grounds, and thronged every fine 
day with fast horses and light vehicles, bearing the young and the gay of 
both sexes. The stranger in New York will have the pleasure of his 
visit greatly enhanced by a drive over this road toward the close of a 
pleasant day. Its nearest approach to the river is at One Hundred and 
Fifteenth Street, at which point our little sketch was taken. 

Among the places of note on the Bloomingdale Road is the New York 
Asylum for the Insane, Elm Park, and the New York Orphan Asylum. 
The former is situated on the east side of the road where it approaches 
nearest the Hudson, the grounds, containing forty acres, occupying the 
entire square between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues, and One Hundred 
and Fifteenth and One Hundred and Twentieth Streets. The institution 



THE HUDSON. 



389 



was opened in the year 1821, for the reception of patients. It may be 
considered a development of the Lunatic Asylum founded in 1810. Its 
establishment upon more rational principles is due to the benevolent 
Thomas Eddy, a Quaker, who proposed to the governors of the old 
institution a course of moral treatment more thorough and extensive than 
had yet been tried. 

The place selected for the asylum, near the village of Bloomingdale, is 




VIEM' ON BLOOMINGDALE EOAD. 



unequalled. The ground is elevated and dry, and affords extensive and 
delightful views of the Hudson and the adjacent city and country. The 
buildings are spacious, the grounds beautifully laid out, and ornamented 
with shrubbery and flowers, and every arrangement is made with a view 
to soothe and heal the distempers of the mind. The patients are allowed 



390 



THE HUDSON. 



to busy themselves with work or chosen amusements, to walk in the 
garden or pleasure-grounds, and to ride out on pleasant days, proper 
discrimination being always observed. 

A short distance below the Asylum for the Insane, on the east side of 
the Bloomingdale Eoad, is the fine old country seat of the Apthorpe 
family, called Elm Park. It is now given to the uses of mere devotees 
of pleasure. Here the Germans of the city congregate in great numbers 




during hours of leisure, to drink beer, tell stories, smoke, sing, and enjoy 
themselves in their peculiar way with a zeal that seems to be inspired by 
Moore's idea that — 



' Pleasure's tlie onlj' noble end, 
To which all human powei's should tend.'' 



Elm Park was the head-quarters of Sir "William Howe, at the time of the 
battle on Harlem Plains, in the autumn of 1776. "Washington had 
occupied it only the day before, and had there waited anxiously and 



THE HUDSON. 



391 



impatiently for the arrival of the fugitive Americaua under General 
Putnam, who narrowly escaped capture when the British took possession 
of the city. The Bloomingdale Eoad, along which they moved, then 
passed through almost continuous woods in this vicinity. Washington 
himself had a very narrow escape here, for he left the house only a few 
minutes before the advanced British column took possession of it. 

Elm Park, when the accompanying sketch was made (June, 1861), 







KT.M TAP.K IN l?Cl 



was a sort ot camp of instruction for volunteers for the army of the 
Republic, then engaged in crushing the great rebellion, in favour of 
human slavery and pclitical and social despotism. "When I visited it, 
companies were actively drilling, and the sounds of the fife and drum 
were mingled with the voices of mirth and conviviality. It was an hour 



892 



THE HUDSON. 



after a tempest had passed by which had prostrated one or two of the 
old majestic trees which shade the ground and the broad entrance lane. 
These trees, composed chiefly of elms and locusts, attest the antiquity of 
the place, and constitute the lingering dignity of a mansion where wealth 
and social refinement once dispensed the most generous hospitality. 
Strong are the contrasts in its earlier and later history. 





CHAPTER XXI, 

, 1 ETWEEN the Bloomingdale Road and the Hudson, and 
'^^^ Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Streets, is the New 
York Orphan Asylum, one of the noblest charities in 
the land. It is designed for the care and culture of 
little children without parents or other protectors. 
Here a home and refuge are found for little ones who have 
been cast upon the cold charities of the world. From one 
hundred and fifty to two hundred of these children of misfor- 
^' tune are there continually, with their physical, moral, intel- 

lectual, and spiritual wants supplied. Their home is a beautiful one. 
The building is of stone, and the grounds around it, sloping to the river, 
comprise about fifteen acres. This institution is the child of the " Society 
for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children," founded in 1806 by 
several benevolent ladies, among whom were the sainted Isabella Graham, 
Mrs. Hamilton, wife of the eminent General Alexander Hamilton, and 
Mrs. Joanna Pethune, daughter of Mrs. Graham. It is supported by 
private bequests and annual subscriptions. 

There is a similar establishment, called the Leake and Watts Orphan 
House, situated above the New York Asylum, on One Hundi'ed and 
Eleventh and One Hundred and Twelfth Streets, between the Ninth and 
Tenth Avenues. It is surrounded by twenty-six acres of land, owned by 
the institution. The building, which was first opened for the reception 
of orphans in 1842, is capable of accommodating about two hundred and 
fifty children. It was founded by John George Leake, who bequeathed 
a large sum for the purpose. His executor, John "Watts, also made a 
liberal donation for the same object, and in honour of these benefactors 
the institution was named. 

These comprise the chief public establishments for the unfortunate in 
the city of New York, near the Hudson river. There are many others 

3 E 



394 



THE HUDSON. 



in the metropolis, but they do not properly claim a place in those 
sketches. 

Let us here turn towards the interior of the island, drive to the verge 
of Harlem Plains, and then make a brief tour through the finished portions 
of the Central Park. Our road will be a little unpleasant a part of the 
way, for this portion of the island is yet in a state of transition from 
original roughness to the symmetry produced by art and labour. 

Here, on the southern verge of the Plains, we will leave our waggon, 
and climb to the summit of the rocky bluff, by a winding path up a steep 




OKPHAN ASYLUM, 



hill covered with bushes, and take our stand by the side of an old square 
tower of brick, built for a redoubt during the war of 1812, and now used 
as a powder-house. The view northward, over Harlem Plains, is de- 
lightful. From the road at our feet stretch away numerous "truck" 
gardens, from which tlie city draws vegetable supplies. On the left is 
seen Manhattanville and a glimpse of the Palisades beyond the Hudson. 
In the centre, upon tlie highest visible point, is the Convent of the Sacred 
Heart ; and towards the right is the Croton Aqueduct, or Higli Bridge, 
over the Harlem river. The trees on the extreme right mark the line of 



THE HUDSON. 



395 



the race-course, a mile in length, beginning at Luff's, the great resort for 
sportsmen. On this course, the trotting abilities of fast horses are tried 
by matches every fine day. 

In our little view of the Plains and the high ground beyond, is included 
the theatre of stirring and very important events of the revolution, in the 
autumn of 1776. Here was fought the battle of Harlem Plains, that 
saved the American army on Harlem Heights ; and yonder, in the dis- 
tance, was the entrenched camp of the Americans between Manhattanvillo 




HARLEM PLAINS. 



and Mount Washington, within which occurred most of the sanguinary 
scenes in the capture of Fort Washington by the British and Hessians. 

Our rocky observatory, more than a hundred feet above tide-water, 
overlooking Harlem Plains, is included in the Central Park. Let us 
descend from it, ride along the verge of the Plain, and go up east of 
McGowan's Pass at about One Hundred and Ninth Street, where the 
remains of Forts Fish and Clinton are yet very prominent. These were 
built on the site of the fortifications of the revolution, during the war of 



396 



THE HUDSON. 



1812. Here we enter among the hundreds of men employed in fashioning 
the Central Park. What a chaos is presented ! Men, teams, barrows, 
blasting, trenching, tunnelling, bridging, and every variety of labour 
needful in the transforming process. We pick our way over an almost 
impassable road among boulders and blasted rocks, to the great artificial 
basin of one hundred acres, now nearly completed, which is to be called 




VIEW IN CENTRAL PARK.* 



the Lake of Man-a-hat-ta. It will really be only au immense tank of 
Croton water, for the use of the city. "We soon reach the finished portions 
of the park, and are delighted with the promises of future grandeur and 
beauty. 

* This is a view of a portion of the Skating-Pond from a liigli point of tlie Eamble. 



1 



I 



THE HUDSON. 397 



It is impossible, in the brief space allotted to these sketches, to give 
even a faint appreciative idea of the ultimate appearance of this park, 
according to the designs of Messrs. Olmstead and Yaux. We may only 
convey a few hints. The park was suggested by the late A. J. Downing, 
in 1851, when Kingsland, mayor of the city, gave it his official recom- 
mendation. Within a hundred days the Legislature of the State of New 
York granted the city permission to lay out a park ; and in February, 
1856, 733 acres of land, in the centre of the island, was in possession of 
the civic authorities for the purpose. Other purchases for the same end 
were made, and, finally, the area of the park was extended in the direc- 
tion of Harlem Plains, so as to include 843 acres. It is more than two 
and a-half miles long, and half a mile wide, between the Fifth and Eighth 
Avenues, and Fifty- ninth and One Hundred and Tenth Streets. A great 
portion of this space was little better than rocky hills and marshy hollows, 
much of it covered with tangled shrubs and vines. The rocks are chiefly 
upheavals of gneiss, and the soil is composed mostly of alluvial deposits 
filled with boulders. Already a wonderful change has been wrought. 
Many acres have been beautified, and the visitor now has a clear idea of 
the general character of the park, when completed. 

The primary purpose of the park is to provide the best practicable means 
of healthful recreation for the inhabitants of the city, of all classes. Its 
chief feature will be a Mall, or broad walk of gravel and grass, 208 feet 
wide, and a fourth of a mile long, planted with four rows of the magnifi- 
cent American elm trees, with seats and other requisites for resting and 
lounging. This, as has been suggested, will be jSTew York's great out-of- 
doors Hall of Re-union. There will be a carriage-way more than nine 
miles in length, a bridle-path or equestrian road more than five miles 
long, and walks for pedestrians full twenty-one miles in length. These 
will never cross each other. There will also be traffic roads, crossing the 
park in straight lines from east to west, which will pass through trenches 
and tunnels, and be seldom seen by the pleasure-seekers in the park. 
The whole length of roads and walks will be almost forty miles. 

The Croton water tanks already there, and the new one to be made, 
will jointly cover 150 acres. There are several other smaller bodies of 
water, in their natural basins. The principal of these is a beautiful, 



398 THE HUDSON. 



irregular lake, known as the Skating-Pond. Pleasure-boats glide over it 
in summer, and in winter it is thronged with skaters.* One portion of 
the Skating-Pond is devoted exclusively to the gentler sex. These, of 
nearly all ages and conditions, throng the ice whenever the skating is 
good. 

Open spaces are to be left for military parades, and large plats of turf 
for games, such as ball and cricket, will be laid down — about twenty 
acres for the former, and ten for the latter ; and it is intended to have a 
beautifixl meadow in the centre of the park. 

There will be arches of cut stone, and numerous bridges of iron and 
stone (the latter handsomely ornamented and fashioned in the most costly 
style), spanning the traffic-roads, ravines, and ponds. One of the most 
remarkable of these, forming a central architectural feature, is the Terrace 
Bridge, at the north end of the Mall, already approaching completion. 
This bridge covers a broad arcade, where, in alternate niches, will be 
statues and fountains. Below will be a platform, 170 feet wide, ex- 
tending to the border of the Skating-Pond. It will embrace a spacious 
basin, with a fine fountain jet in its centre. This structure will be 
composed of exquisitely wrought light brown freestone, and granite. 

Such is a general idea of tlie park, the construction of which was begun 
at the beginning of 1858; it is expected to be completed in 1864 — a 
period of only about six years. The entire cost will not fall rnuch short 
of 12,000,000 dollars. As many as four thousand men and several 
hundred horses have been at work upon it at one time.f 

Prom the Central Park — where beauty and symmetry in the hands of 
Nature and Art already performed noble aesthetic service for the citizens 
of New York — let us ride to "Jones's Woods," on the eastern borders of 
the island, where, until recently, the silence of the country forest might 
have been enjoyed almost within sound of the hum of the busy town. 

* The New York Spirit uf the Times, refeiiing to tliis lake, said:— "From the commencement of 
skating to the 2-ltIi clay of February (18(51) was sixtj'-three days; there was skating on fortj'-flve days, 
and no skating on eighteen days. Of visitors to the pond, the least number on any one day was one 
hundred; the largest number on one day (Christmas) estimated at 100,000; aggregate number during 
the season, 540,000 ; average number on skating days, 12,000." 

t This brief description was written, and the accompanying sketches were made, in 1861. The 
gi-eat work of fashioning this Park, leaving Nature, in the growth of trees and shrubbery, to enrich and 
beautify it, is now (1866) nearly completed. 



THE HUDSON. 



399 



But here, as everywhere else, on the upper part of Manhattan Island, the 
early footprints in the march of improvement are seen. As we leave the 
beautiful arrangement of the park, the eye immediately encounters scenes 
of perfect chaos, where animated and inanimated nature combine in 
making pictures upon memory, never to be forgotten. The opening and 
grading of new streets produce many rugged bluffs of earth and rock ; 
and upon these, whole villages of squatters, who are chiefly Irish, may 





THK TKRRACE BRIDGE AND MALL. 



be seen. These inhabitants have the most supreme disregard for law or 
custom in planting their dwellings. To them the land seems to " lie out 
of doors," without visible owners, bare and unproductive. "Without 
inquiry they take full possession, erect cheap cabins upon the "public 
domains," and exercise "squatter sovereignty" in an eminent degree, 
until some innovating owner disturbs their repose and their title, by 



400 



THE HUDSON. 



undermining their castles — for in New York, as in England, "every 
man's house is his castled These form the advanced guard of the growing 
metropolis ; and so eccentric is Fortune in the distribution of her favours 
in this land of general equality, that a dweller in these '* suburban 
cottages," where swine and goats are seen instead of deer and blood-cattle, 
may, not many years in the future, occupy a palace upon Central Park — 
perhaps, upon the very spot where he now uses a pig for a pillow, and 
breakfasts upon the milk of she-goats. In a superb mansion of his own, 




A SQUATTER VILLAGE. 



within an arrow's flight of Madison Park, lived a middle-aged man in 
1861, whose childhood was thus spent among the former squatters in that 
quarter, 

" Jones's "Woods," formerly occupying the space between the Third 
Avenue and the East Eiver, and Sixtieth and Eightieth Streets, are 
rapidly disappearing. Streets have been cut through them, clearings for 
buildings have been made, and that splendid grove of old forest trees a 
few years ago, has been changed to clumps, giving shade to large numbers 



THE HUDSON. 



401 



of pleasure-seekers during the hot months of summer, and the delightful 
"weeks of early autumn. There, in profound retirement, in an elegant 
mansion on the bank of the East River, lived David Provoost, better 




PEOVOOSTS T0MI5— JONES'S WOODS. 



known to the inhabitants of jS'ew York — more than xi hundred years ago — 
as "Eeady-money Provoost." This title he acquired because of the 
sudden increase of his -wealth by the illicit trade in which some of the 

.3 F 



402 THE HUDSON. 



colonists were then engaged, in spite of the vigilance of the mother 
country. He married the widow of James Alexander, and mother of 
Lord Stirling, an eminent American officer in the old war for indepen- 
dence. In a family vault, cut in a rocky knoll at the request of his first 
wife, he was buried,- and his remains were removed only when it was 
evident that they would no longer be respected by the Commissioner of 
Streets. It is now a dilapidated ruin near the foot of Seventy-first Street. 
The marble slab that he placed over the vault in memory of his wife (and 
which commemorates him also) lies neglected, over the broken walls. ^•' 
The fingers of destruction are busy there. 

The old Provoost mansion is gone, and with it has departed the quiet 
of the scene. Near its site, large assemblages of people listen to music, 
hold festivals, dance, partake of refreshments of almost every kind, and 
fill the air with the voices of mirth. The Germans, wlio love the open 
air, go thither in large numbers ; v.nd tents wherein Ia(/e)- bier is sold, form 
conspicuous objects iu that still half sylvan retreat. There Blondin 
walked his rope at fearful heights, among the tall tulip trees ; and there, 
in autumn, the young people may yet gather nuts from the hickory trees, 
and gorgeous leaves from the birch, the chestnut, and the maple. But 
half a decade will not pass, before " Jones's Woods " will be among the 
things that have passed away. 

A little beyond this, at Eighty- sixth Street, a road leads down to 
Astoria Ferry, on the East Eiver, a short distance below the mouth of 
the Harlem Eiver. This is a great thoroughfare, as it leads to many 
pleasant residences on Long Island, and the delightful roads in that 
vicinity. From this ferry may be obtained a fine view of Mill Eock in 
the East Eiver, Hallett's Point, the village of Astoria, and other places 
of interest in the vicinity of a dangerous whirlpool, named by the Dutch 
Helle-gat (Hell-hole), now called Hell-gate. It is no longer dangerous 
to navigators, the sunken rocks which formed the whirlpool having been 
removed in 1852, by submarine blasting, in which electricity was em- 



* The slab bears (lie following inscripticii : " Joaxkah KvnijEBS, who was the most luviiig: wife of 
Da\ia Provoost. It was lier will to be interred in this Iiill. Obitus 8 Xombcr, IT-iO, aged 4:3 years." 
" Suired to the iiicn.o y of David Provcost, who died Oct. 19t]i, 1781, aged 00 years." 



THE HUDSON. 



403 



ployed. This is an interesting historic locality. Here the town records 
of iN'ewport, Ehode Island, carried away by Sir Henry Clinton, were 
submerged in 1779, when the British vessel that bore them was wrecked 
near the vortex. They were recovered. Here, during the revolution, 
the British frigate ITuzzar was wrecked, and sunk in deep water, having 
on board, it was believed, a large amonnt of specie, destined for the use 




VIEW NEAR HELL-&ATE. 



of the British troops in America. On Mill Bock, a strong block-house 
was erected during the war of 1812; and on Hallett's Point, a military 
work called Fort Stevens was constructed at the same time. 

Near Hell-gate the Harlem River enters the East River, and not far 
distant are "Ward's and Randall's Islands. These belong to the corpora- 
tion of New York. The former contains a spacious emigi-ants' hospital, 



404 THE HUDSON. 



and the latter nursery schools for poor children, and a penal house of 
refuge for juvenile delinquents. This is a delightful portion of the East 
River, and here the lover of sport may find good fishing at proper seasons. 

Ward's Island contains about 200 acres, and lies in the East Eiver, 
from One Hundred and Eirst to One Hundred and Fifteenth Streets 
inclusive. The Indians called it Ten-Tcen-as. It was purchased from 
them by Eirst Director Yan Twilles, in 1637. A portion of the island is 
a potter's field, where about 2,500 of the poor and strangers are buried 
annually. 'J'he island is supplied with Croton water. A ferry connects 
it with the city at One Hundred and Sixth Street. Randall's Island, 
nearly north from Ward's, close by the Westchester shore, was the resi- 
dence of Jonathan Randall for almost fifty years ; he purchased it in 1754. 
It has been called, at different times. Little Barn Island, Belle Isle, 
Talbot's Island, and Montressor's Island. The city purchased it, in 1835, 
for 50,000 dollars. The House of Refuge is on the southern part of the 
island, opposite One Hundred and Seventeenth Street. There youthful 
criminals are kept free from the contaminating influence of old offenders, 
are taught useful trades, and are oontinually subjected to reforming 
influences. Good homes are furnished them when they leave the institu- 
tion, and in this way the children of depraved parents who have entered 
upon a career of crime, have their feet set in the paths of virtue, usefulness, 
and honour. 

Near the southern border of "Jones's Woods" is "The Coloured 
Home," where the indigent, sick, and infirm of African blood have their 
physical, moral, and religious wants supplied. It is managed by an 
association of women, and is sustained by the willing hands of the 
benevolent. 

A little farther south, on the high bank of the East River, at Eifty- 
first Street, is the ancient family mansion of a branch of the Beekman 
family, whose ancestor accompanied Governor Stuyvesant to New 
Amsterdam, now New York. There General Howe made his head- 
quarters after the battle on Long Island and his invasion of New York, 
in 1776; and there he was made -Sj'r William Howe, because of those 
events, by knightly ceremonies performed by brother ofiicers, at the com- 
mand of the king. Captain Nathan Hale, the spy, whose case and Major 



THE HUDSON. 405 



Andre's have been compared, was brouglit before General Howe at this 
place soon after his arrest. He was confined during the night in the 
conservatory, and the next morning, without even the form of a trial, 
was handed over to Cunningham, the inhuman provost marshal, who 
hanged him upon an apple-tree, under circumstances of peculiar cruelly. 
The act was intended to strike the minds of the Americans with terror ; 
it only served to exasperate and strengthen them.'^' 

The old Eeekman mansion, with its rural surroundings, remained unin- 
vaded by the Commissioner of Streets until about ten years ago. I re- 
member with pleasure a part of the day that I spent there with the 
hospitable owner. Then there were fine lawns, with grand old trees, 
blooming garden?, the spacious conservatory in which Hale was confined, 
and an ancient sun-dial that had marked the hours for a century. Over 
the elaborately-wrought chimney-pieces in the drawing-room were the 
arms of the Eeekman family ; and in an outhouse was a coach bearing 
the same arms, that belonged to the first proprietor of the mansion. It 
was a fine old relic of !New York aristocracy a hundred years ago, and 
one of only three or four coaches owned in the city at that time. Such 
was the prejudice against the name of coach — a sure sign of aristocracy — 
that Robert Murray, a wealthy Quaker merchant, called his "a leathern 
conveniency." But the beauty of the Beekman homestead has departed ; 
the ground is reticulated by streets and avenues, and the mansion is left 
alone iu its glory. 

Directly opposite to the Beekman mansion is the lower end of Blackwell's 
Island, a narrow strip of land in the East River, extending to Eighty- 
eighth Street, and containing 120 acres. Beyond it is seen the pretty 
village of Ravenswood, on the Long Island shore. The Indians called 
Blackwell's Island Min-na-han-nocJc. It was also named Manning Island, 
having been owned by Captain John Manning, who, in 1672, betrayed 



* Nathan Hale was an exemplary young man, of a good Connecticut family. Washington was 
anxious to ascertain the exact position and condition of the British amiy on Long Island, and Hale 
volunteered to obtain it. He was arrested, and consigned to Cunningham for execution. He was 
refused the services of a clergyman and the use of a Bible, and letters that he wrote during the night 
to his mother and sisters were destroyed by the inhuman marshal. His last words were, — " I only 
regret that I have but one life to give to my countrj-." 



406 



THE HUDSON. 



the fort at New York into the hands of the Dutch.* In 1828 it was 
purchased by the city of New Yoi'k, of Joseph Blackwell, and appropriated 
to public uses. Upon it are situated the almshouse, almshouse hospital, 
penitentiary hospital. New York city small-pox hospital, workhouse, city 
penitentiary, and New York lunatic asylum. These are under the super- 




THE BEEKMAN MANSION. 



vision of a board of ten governors. There is a free ferry to the island, at 
the foot of Sixty-first Street. 

Turtle Bay, at Forty- seventli Street — from the southern border of 



* Manning was bribed to commit the treason. He escaped punislmient thrnngh the intervention of 
his king, Charles 11., wlio, it was believed, shared in the bribe. 



THE HUDSON. 



407 



which our sketch of Black well's Island was taken — was a theatre of some 
stirring scenes during the reyolution. Until "within a few years it re- 
mained in its primitive condition — a sheltered cove with a gravelly beach, 
and higli rocky shores covered with trees and shrubbery. Here the 
British government had a magazine of military stoves, and these the Sons 
of Liberty, as the early Ecpublicans were called, determined to seize, in 




TLEILE BAY AKD liLACKWELL'S ISLAND. 



July, 1775. A party, under the direction of active members of that 
association, proceeded stealthily by water, in the evening, from Greenwich, 
Connecticut, passed the dangerous vortex of Hell-gate at twilight, and at 
midnight surprised and captured the guard, and seized the stores. The 
old storehouse in which they were deposited was yet standing, in 1861, 
a venerable relic of the past among the busy scenes of the present. 



408 



THE HUDSON. 



At Turtle Bay we fairly meet the city in its gradual movement along 
the shores of the East Iliver. Eelow this point almost every relic of the 
past, in Nature and Art, lias been swept away by pick and powder ; and 
wharves, store-houses, manufactories, and dwellings, are occupying places 
where, only a few years ago, were pleasant country seats, far away from 
the noise of the town. Our ride in this direction will, therefore, have no 
special attractions, so let us turn towards the Hudson again, and visit 
some points of interest in the central and lower portions of the island 
within the limits of the regulated streets. The allotted space allows us 
to take only glimpses at some of the most prominent points and objects. 




THE RESERVOIR, FIFTH AVENUE. 



The great distributing reservoir of the Croton water, upon Murray 
Hill, between Fortieth and Forty-second Streets, and Fifth and Sixth 
Avenues, challenges our attention and admiration. Up to and beyond 
this point the Fifth Avenue — the street of magnificent palatial residences 
— is completed, scarcely a vacant lot remaining upon its borders. The 
reservoir stands in solemn and marked contrast to these ornamental struc- 



THE HUDSON. 



409 



tures, and ricli and gay accompaniments. Its walls,. in Egyptian style, 
are of dark granite, and average forty-four feet in height above the 
adjacent streets. Upon the top of the wall, which is reached by massive 
steps, is a broad promenade, from which may be obtained very extensive 
views of the city and the surrounding country. This is made secure by a 




FUTH AVENUE HOTEL, MADISON PARK. 



strong battlement of granite on the outside, and next to the water by an 
iron fence. 

The reservoir covers an area of two acres, and its tank capacity is over 
twenty millions of gallons. The water was first let into it on the 4th of 
July, 1842. On the 14th of October following it was distributed over 
the town, and the event was celebrated on that day by an immense 



military and civic procession. Such a display had never been seen in 
New York since the mingling of the waters of the Great Lake and the 
Hudson River, through the Erie Canal, was celebrated in 1825. 

At the request of the Corporation of the City of New York, George P. 
Morris wrote the following Ode, which was sung near the fountain then 
playing in the City Hall Park, by the members of the New York Sacred 
Music Society : — 

THE CROTON ODE. 



Gushing from this living fountain, 

Music poui'S a falling strain, 
As the goddess of the mountain 

Comes with all her sparkling train. 
From her grotto springs advancing, 

Glittering in her feathery spray. 
Woodland fays beside her dancing, 

She pursues her winding way. 



Gently o'er the rippling water. 

In her coral sliallop bright, 
Glides the rock-king's dove-eyed daughter, 

Decked in robes of virgin white. 
Nymphs and Naiads sweetly smiling, 

Urge her bark with pearly liand. 
Merrily the sylph beguiling 

From the nooks of fairy-land. 



Swimming on the snow-curled billow, 

See the river spirits fair 
Lay their cheeks, as on a pillow. 

With the foam-beads in their hair. 
Thus attended, hither wending. 

Floats the lovely Oread now, 
Eden's arch of promise bending 

Over her translucent brow. 



Hail the wanderer from a far land ! 

Bind her flowing tresses up ! 
Crown her with a fadeless garland. 

And with crystal brim the cup ; 
From her haunts of deep seclusion. 

Let Intemperance greet her too. 
And the heat of his delusion 

Sprinkle with this mountain-dew. 



THE HUDSON. 411 



Water leaps as if delighted. 

While lier conquered foes retire ! 
I'ale Contagion Hies affrighted 

With the baffled demon Fire ! 
Safety dwells in her dominions. 

Health and Beauty with her move, 
And entwine their circling ijinions 

In a sisterhood of love. 



Water shouts a glad hosanna ! 

Bubbles up the earth to bless! 
Cheers it like the precious manna 

In the barren wilderness. 
Here we wondering gaze, assembled 

Like the grateful Hebrew band, 
Wlien the hidden fountain trembled. 

And obeyed tlie prophet's wand. 



Eound the aqueducts of storj'. 

As the mists of Lethe throng, 
Croton's waves in all their glory 

Troop in melody along. 
Ever sparkling, bright, and single. 

Will this rock-ribbed stream appeal-, 
Wlien posterity shall mingle 

Like the gathered waters here. 



The waters of the Croton flow from the dam to the distributing reser- 
voir, forty miles and a half, through a covered canal, made of stone and 
brick, at an average depth of 2 J feet. The usual flow is about 30,000,000 
of gallons a day; its capacity is 60,000,000. It passes through sixteen 
tunnels in rock, varying from 160 to 1,263 feet. In Westchester county 
it crosses twenty-five streams, from 12 to 70 feet below the line of grade, 
besides numerous small brooks furnished with culverts. After crossing 
the Harlem Eiver over the high bridge already described, it passes the 
Manhattan valley by an inverted siphon of iron pipes, 4, 180 feet in length, 
and the Clendening valley on an aqueduct 1,900 feet. It then enters 
the first receiving reservoir, now in the Central Park, which has a capacity 
of 150,000,000 gallons. In a hygienic and economic view, the importance 
of this great work cannot be estimated ; in insurance alone it caused the 
reduction of 40 cents on every 100 dollars in the annual rates. It is 
estimated that the capacity of the Croton River is sufficient to supply the 



412 



THE HUDSON. 



city with a population of 5,000,000. The ridge line, or water-shed, en- 
closing the Croton valley above the dam, is 101 miles in length. The 
stream is 39 miles in length, and its tributaries 136 miles.'* The total 
area of the valley is 352 square miles ; within it are thirty-one natural 
lakes and ponds. 

From the reservoir we ride down Fifth Avenue, the chief fashionable 




AVORTU'S MONUMENT. 



i 



quarter of the metropolis. For two miles we may pass between houses 
of the most costly description, built chiefly of brown freestone, some of it 



* The princiiial one of the remote sources of the Croton Eiver is a spring near the road side, not far 
from the house of William Hoag, on Quaker Hill, in the town of Pawling. The spring is by tlie side of 
a stone fence, with a barrel-curb, and is 1,300 feet above tide water. 



THE HUDSON. 413 



elaborately carved. Travellers agree that in no city in the world can bo 
found an equal number of really splendid mansions in a single street ; 
they are furnished, also, in princely style. The side-walks are flagged 
Avith heavy blue stone, or granite, and the street is paved with blocks of 
the latter material. At Madison Square, between Twenty-third and 
Twenty-sixth Streets, it is crossed diagonally by Broadway, and there, as 
an exception, are a few business establishments. At the intersection, and 
fronting Madison Park, is the magnificent Fifth Avenue Hotel, built of 
white marble, and said to be the largest and most elegant in the world. 
As we look up from near the St. Germain, this immense house, six stories 
in height, is seen on the left, and the trees of Madison Park on the right. 
In the middle distance is the Worth House, a large private boarding 
establishment, and near it the granite monument erected by the city of 
New York to the memory of the late General "William J. Worth, of the 
United States army. 

This is the only public monument in the city of Kew Y ork, except a 
mural one to the memory of General Montgomery, in the front wall of 
St. Paul's Church, It is of Quincy granite ; the apex is fifty-one feet 
from the ground, and the smooth surface of the shaft is broken by raised 
bands, on which are the names of the battles in which General Worth 
had been engaged. On the lower section of the shaft are representations 
of military trophies in relief. General Worth was an aide-de-camp of 
General Scott in the battles of Chippewa and Niagara, in the summer of 
1814, and went through the war with Mexico with distinction. His 
name holds an honourable place among the military heroes of his country. 
The monument was erected in 1858. 




CHAPTER XXII. 

OWN Broadway, a few streets below the Fifth Avenue 
Hotel, is Union Park, whose form is an ellipse. It 
is at the head of Old Broadway, at Fourteenth Street, 
and is at such an elevation that the Hudson and East 
Rivers may both be seen by a spectator on its 
Fourteenth Street front. It is a small enclosure, with a large 
fountain, and pleasantly shaded with young trees. Only a few 
years ago this vicinity was an open common, and where Union 
Park is was a high hill. On its northern side is the Everett 
House, a large, first-class hotel, named in honour of Edward 
Everett, the American scholar and statesman, who represented his country 
at the Court of St. James's a few years ago. On its southern side is the 
Union Park Hotel, and around it are houses that were first-class a dozen 
years ago. In one of the four triangles outside the square is a bronze 
equestrian statue of Washington, by H. K. Brown, an American sculptor, 
standing upon a high granite pedestal, surrounded by heavy iron railings. 
This is the only public statue in the city of New York, if we except a small 
sandstone one in the City Hall Park, and a marble one of William Pitt, 
at the corner of Franklin Street and West Broadway, which stood at the 
junction of Wall and William Streets, when the old war for independence 
broke out. The latter is only a torso, the head and arms having been 
broken off by the British soldiery after Sir William Howe took possession 
of the city in the autumn of 1776.* In our little picture we look xip the 
Fourth Avenue, which extends to Harlem, and from which proceed two 
great railways, namely, the Harlem, leading to Albany, and the New 
Haven, that connects with all the railways in New England. On the 
left, by the side of Union Park, is seen a marquee, the head- quarters of 

* This broken statue lias disappeared since the above was written. 



THE HUDSON. 



415 



a regiment of Zouave volunteers for the United States army. These 
signs of war might then be seen in all parts of the city. 

Let us turn here and ride through broad Fourteenth Street, towards 
the East River, passing the Opera House on the way. We are going to 
visit the oldest living thing in the city of New York, — an ancient pear- 
tree, at the corner of Thirteenth Street and Third Avenue. It was 




UNION PARK. 



brought from Holland by Peter Stuyvesaut, the last and most renowned 
of the governors of New Netherland (New York) while it belonged to the 
Dutch. Stuyvesant brought the tree from Holland, and planted it in his 
garden in the year 1647. I believe it was never known to fail in bear- 
ing fruit. Many of the pears have been preserved in liquor as ciu'iosities. 



416 



THE HUDSON. 



and many a twig has left the parent stem for transplantation in far distant 
soil. The tree seems to have vigour enough to last another century. 

Stuyvesant's dwelling, upon his "Bowerie estate," was near the present 
St. Mark's Church, Tenth Street, and Second Avenue. It was huilt of 
small yellow brick, imported from Holland. To this secluded spot he 
retired when he was compelled to surrender the city and province to the 




STUYVESANT PEAE TEEE. 



English, in 1664. There he lived with his family for eighteen years, 
employed in agricultural pursuits. He built a chapel, at his own cost, on 
the site of St. Mark's, and in a vault within it he was buried. The slab 
of brown freestone that covered it, and which now occupies a place in 
the rear wall of St. Mark's, bears the following inscription: — "In this 
vault lies Petkus Stuyvesant, late Captain- General and Commander-in- 



THE HUDSON. 



417 



chief of Amsterdam, in jS'ew Netherlands, now called New York, and the 
Dutch "West India Islands. Died, August, a.d. 1682, aged eighty 
years." ^' 

St. Mark's Church, seen on the left in our little sketch, now ranks 
among the older church edifices in the city. It was built in 1799, and 
several of the descendants of Peter Stuyvesant have been, and still are, 
members of the congregation. When erected, it was more than a mile 
from the city, in the midst of pleasant 
country seats. The old Stuyvesant 
mansion was yet standing, and the 
" Bowery Lane " (now the broad 
street called the Bowery), and the old 
Boston Port road, were the nearest 
highways. Near it, on the Second 
Avenue, is seen a Gothic edifice — the 
Baptist Tabernacle — by the side of 
which is a square building of drab 
freestone, belonging to the New York 
Historical Society. The latter is one 
of the most flourishing and important 

associations in New York, and numbers among its membership — resident, 
corresponding, and honorary — many of the best minds in America and 
Europe. It has a very large and valuable library, and an immense 
collection of manuscripts and rare things ; also the entire collection of 
Egyptian antiquities brought to the United States by the late Dr. Abbott, 
several marbles from Nineveh, and a choice gallery of pictures, chiefly by 
American artists. {■ 




stfyvesant's house. 



* Peter Stuyvesant was a native of Holland : he was bred to the art of war, and had been in public 
life, as Governor of Curagoa, before he assumed the government of New Netherlands. He was a man 
of dignitj', honest and true. He was energetic, aristocratic, and overbearing. His deportment made 
him unpopular with the people, yet his services were of vastly more value to them and tlie province than 
those of any of his predecessors. He was " Peter the Headstrong " in Knickerbocker's burlesque history 
of New York, written by Irving, who describes him as a man "of such immense activity and decision 
of mind, that he never sought nor accepted the advice of others." . ..." A tough, sturdy, valiant, 
weather-beaten, mettlesome, obstinate, leather-sided, lion-hearted, generous-spirited old governor." 

t Tlie New York Historical Society was organised in December, 1S04. Its fire-proof building, in 
which its collections are deposited, was completed in the autumn of 1S57. 

3 n 



418 



THE HUDSON. 



In a cluster, a short distance from St. Mark's, are the Bible House, 
Cooper Institute, Clinton Hall, and Astor Library,''-' places which intel- 
ligent strangers in the city should not pass by. The first three are seen 




ST. mark's church and historical society house. 



in our sketch, the Bible House on the right, the Cooper Institute on 



* The New York Society Library, in University Place, is the oldest public library in the United 
States. It was incorporated in the year 1700, under the title of " The Public Library of New York." 
Its name was changed to its present one in 17.54. It contains almost 50,000 volumes. 



THE HUDSON. 



419 



the left, and Clinton Hall iu the distance. The open area is Astor 
Place. 

The Bible House occupies a whole block or square. It belongs to the 
American Bible Society. A large portion of the building is devoted to 
the business of the association. Blank paper is delivered to the presses 
in the sixth story, and proceeds downwards through regular stages of 




BIBLE HOUSE, COOPEE INSTITUTE, AND CLINTON HALL. 



manufacture, until it reaches the depository for distribution on the ground 
floor, in the form of finished books. A large number of religious and 
kindred societies have offices in this building. 

The Cooper Institute is the pride of New York, for it is the creation of 
a single New York merchant, Peter Cooper, Esq. The buildiug, of 
brown freestone, occupies an entire block or square, and cost over 



420 THE HUDSON. 



300,000 dollars. The primary object of the founder is the advancement 
of science, and knowledge of the useful arts, and to this end all the 
interior arrangements of the edifice were made. "When it was completed, 
Mr. Cooper formally conveyed the whole property to trustees, to be 
devoted to the public good.* By his munificence, benevolence, and 
wisdom displayed in this gift to his countrymen, Mr. Cooper takes rank 
among the great benefactors of mankind. 

Clinton Hall belongs to the Mercantile Library Association, which is 
composed chiefly of merchants and merchants' clerks. It has a member- 
ship of between four and five thousand persons, and a library of nearly 
seventy thousand volumes. The building was formerly the Astor Place 
Opera House, and in the open space around it occurred the memorable 
riot occasioned by the quarrel between Forrest and Macready, to which 
allusion has been made. 

jS'ear Astor Place, on Lafayette Place, is the Astor Library, created by 
the munificence of the American Croesus, John Jacob Astor, who 
bequeathed for the purpose 400,000 dollars. The building (made larger 
than at first designed, by the liberality of the son of the founder, and 
chief inheritor of his property) is capable of holding 200,000 volumes. 
More than half that number are there now. The building occupies a 
portion of the once celebrated Vauxhall Gardens, a place of amusement 
thirty years ago. 

Let us now ride down the Bowery, the broadest street in the city, and 
lined almost wholly with small retail shops. It leads us to Franklin 
Square, a small triangular space at the junction of Pearl and Cherry 
Streets. This, in the " olden time," was the fashionable quarter of the 
city, and was remarkable first for the great Walton House, and a little 
later as the vicinity of the residence of "Washington during the first year 
of his administration as first President of the United States. That 
building was 'No. 10, Cherry Street. By the demolition of some houses 



* The chief operations of the Institute (which Mr. Cooper calls " The Union ") are free instruction 
of classes in science and the usefid arts, and free lectures. The first and second stories are rented, the 
proceeds of which are devoted to defraj-ing the expenses of the establishment. In the basement is a 
lecture-room 125 feet by 82 feet, and 21 feet in height. The tln-ee upper stories are arranged for 
purposes of instruction. There is a large hall, with a gallery, designed for a free Public Exchange. 



THE HUDSON. 



421 



between it and Franklin Square, it formed a front on that open space. 
In 1856, the Bowery was continued from Chatham Square to Franklin 
Square, when this and adjacent buildings were demolished, and larger 
edifices erected on their sites. There Washington held his first levees, 
and there Mr. Hammond, the first resident minister from England sent to 
the new llepublie, was I'cceived by the chief magistrate of the Eepublic. 




WASHINGTON'S RESIDENCE AS IT APPEARED IN 1850. 



The chief attraction to the stranger at Franklin Square at the present 
time, is the extensive printing and publishing house of Harper and 
Bkothers. 

The Walton House, now essentially changed in appearance, was by far 
the finest specimen of domestic architecture in the city or its suburbs. 



422 THE HUDSON. 



It stood alone, in the midst of trees and shrubbery, with a beautiful 
garden covering the slope between it and the East river. It was built 
by a wealthy shipowner, a brother of Admiral AValton, of the British 
navy, in pure English style. It atti'acted great attention. A lately- 
deceased resident of New York once informed me, that when he was a 
schoolboy and lived in Wall Street, he was frequently rewarded for good 
behaviour, by permission to "go out on Saturday afternoon to see Master 
Walton's grand house." The family arms, carved in wood, remained 
over the street door until 1850. It was a place of great resort for the 
British officers during the war for independence ; and there William IV., 
then a midshipman under Admiral Digby, was entertained with the 
courtesy due to a prince. 

On the site of the residence of Walter Eranklin, a Quaker and wealthy 
merchant, whose name the locality commemorates, stand the Harpers' 
magnificent structures of brick and iron (the front all iron), which soon 
arose from the ashes of their old establishment, consumed near the close 
of 1853. There are two buildings, the rear one fronting on Cliff Street. 
The latter is seven stories in height, and the one on Franklin Square six 
stories, exclusive of the basements and sub-cellars. Between them is a 
court, in which is a lofty brick tower, with an interior spiral staircase. 
From this iron bridges extend to the different stories. The buildings are 
almost perfectly fire-proof. It is the largest establishment of its kind in 
the United States. Over six hundred persons are usually employed in it. 
It was founded nearly fifty years ago, by two of the four brothers who 
compose the firm. They are all yet (1866) actively engaged in the 
management of the affairs of the house, with several of their sons, and 
may be found during business hours, ever ready to extend tlie hand of 
cordial welcome to strangers, and to give them the opportunity to see the 
operation of book-making in all its departments, and in the greatest 
perfection. 

On our way from Franklin Square to the Hudson, by the most direct 
route, we cross the City Hall Park, which was known a century ago as 
" The Fields." It was then an open common on the northern border of 
the city, at "the Forks of the Broadway." It is triangular in form. 
The great thoroughfare of Broadway is on its western side, and the City 



THE HUDSON. 



423 



Hall, a spacious edifice of white marble, stands in its centre, j^ear its 
southern end is a large fountain of Croton water. On its eastern side 
was a declivity overlooking " Beekman's Swamp." That section of the 
city is still known as "The Swamp" — the gVeat leather mart of the 
metropolis. On the brow of that declivity, where Tammany Hall now 
stands, Jacob Leisler, "the people's governor," when James II, left the 




FRANKLIN SQUARE. 



English throne and William of Orange ascended it, was hanged, havin" 
been convicted on the false accusation of being a disloyal usurper. He was 
the victim of a jealous and corrupt aristocracy, and was the first and last 
man ever put to death for treason alone within the domain of the United 
States down to the close of the Civil War in 1865. 



424 



THE HUDSON. 



"When the war for independence was kindling, the Pield became the 
theatre of many stirring scenes. There the inhabitants assembled to hear 
the harangues of political leaders and pass resolves: there "liberty poles" 
were erected and prostrated ; and there soldiers and people had collisions. 
There obnoxious men were hung in effigy ; and there at six o'clock in the 




! 



BROADWAY AT ST. PAI'L'S. 



evening of a sultry day in July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence 
was read to one of the brigades of the Continental Army, then in the city 
under the command of Washington. 

The vicinity of the lower or southern end of the park has ever been a 



THE HUDSON. 425 



point of much interest. On the site of Barnum's Museum, "^^ the " Sons of 
Liberty" in New York — the ultra-i-epublicans before the revolution — had 
a meeting-place, called "Hampden Hall." Opposite was St. Paul's 
Church, a chapel of Trinity Church; where, in after years, when the 
objects for which the "Sons of Liberty" had been organised were 
accomplished, namely, the independence of the colonies, the Te Beum 
Laudamus was sung by a vast multitude, on the occasion of the inaugura- 
tion of Washington (who was present), as the first chief magistrate of the 
United States. There it yet stands, on the most crowded portion of 
Broadway (where various omnibus lines meet), a venerable relic of the 
past, clustered with important and interesting associations. Around it 
are the graves of the dead of several generations. Under its great front 
window is a mural monument erected to the memory of General 
Montgomery, who fell at the siege of Quebec, in 1775: and a few feet 
f>.om its venerable walls is a marble obelisk, standing at the grave of 
Thomas Addis Emmet, brother of, and co-worker with the eminent Robert 
Emmet, who perished on the scaffold during the uprising of the Irish 
people against the British government, in 1798. 

Passing down Broadway, we soon reach Trinity Church, founded at 
the close of the seventeenth century. The present is the fourth edifice, 
on the same site. Soon after the British army took possession of New 
York, in September, 1776, a fire broke out in the lower part of the town. 
Five hundred edifices were consumed — an eighth of all that were in the 
city. Trinity Church (the second edifice) was among the number 
destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1788, and taken down in 1839. The 
present fine building was then commenced, and was completed in 1843. 
Within the burial-ground around the church, and the most conspicuous 
object there, is the magnificent brown freestone monument, erected by 
order of the vestry, in 1852, and dedicated as "Sacred to the Memory," 
as an inscription upon it says, " of those brave and good men who died, 
whilst imprisoned in the city, for their devotion to the cause of American 
Independence." Hereby is indicated a great change, wrought by time. 



* The Museum building (seen opposite St. Paul's in the picture), with all its contents, was destroyed 
by fire in 1SC5. 



426 



THE HUDSON. 



"When these "brave and good men" were in prison, one of their most 
unrelenting foes was Dr. Inglis, the Rector of Trinity, because they were 
"devoted to the cause of American Independence."* The church fronts 
Wall Street, the site of the wooden palisades or wall that extended from 
the Hudson to the East River, across the island, when it belonged to the 




•S^^' '-v?^ ''P^ 

SOLDIERS' MOKUMENT IN TRINITY CHURCHYARD. 



Dutch. Here we enter the ancient domain of New Amsterdam, a city 
around which the mayor was required to walk every morning at sunrise, 



* Wlien Washington arrived in New York with troops from Boston, in the spring of 1776, he occupied 
a house in Pearl .Street, near Liberty, not far from Trinity Church. Being a communicant of the 
Church of England, he attended Divine service there. On Sunday morning, one of Washington's 
generals called on Dr. Inglis, and requested him to omit the violent prayer for the king and royal family. 
He paid no regard to it. He afterwards said to that officer, " It is in your power to shut up the churches, 
but you cannot make the clergy depart from their duty." Tne prisoners alluded to in the inscription on 
the monument, were those who died in the old Sugar-houses of the city, which were used for hospitals. 
Many of them were buried in the north part of Trinity Chm-chyard. 



THE HUDSON. 



427 



unlock all the gates, and give the key to the commander of the fort. 
Such was New York two hundred years ago.'""' 

According to early accounts, New Amsterdam must have been a quaint 
old town in Stuyvesant's time, at about the middle of the seventeenth 
century. It was, in style, a reproduction of a Dutch village of that 
period, when modest brick mansions, with terraced gables fronting the 
street, were mingled with steep-roofed cottages with dormer windows in 
sides and gables. It was then compactly built. The area within the 
palisades was not large ; settlers in abundance came ; and for sevei-al years 
few ventured to dwell remote from the town, because of the hostile 
Indians, who swarmed in the surrounding forests. The toleration that 
had made Holland an asylum for the oppressed, was practised here to its 
fullest extent. " Do you wish to buy a lot, build a house, and become a 
citizen?" was the usual question put to a stranger. His affirmative 
answer, with proofs of its sincerity, was a sufficient passport. They 
pryed not into private opinion or belief ; and bigotry could not take root 
and flourish in a soil so inimical to its growth. The inhabitants were 
industrious, thrifty, simple in manners and living, hospitable, neigh- 
bourly, and honest; and all enjoyed as full a share of human happiness 
as a mild despotism would allow, until the interloping "Yankees " from 
the Puritan settlements, and the conquering, overbearing English, 



* The harbour of New York was discovered by Hudson in September, 1609. It is supposed to have 
been entered twenty-five years earlier, by Verrazani, a Florentine. Traders speedily came after the 
discovery was proclaimed, and established a trading-house at Albany. In 1613, Captain Block built a 
ship near the Bowling Green, to replace the one in 
wliieh he sailed from Holland, and which was acci- 
dentally burnt. A Dutch West India Company was 
formed in 1621, with all the elementary powers of 
government. Their charter gave them territorial 
dominion, and the country, called New Netherland, 
was made a county of Holland. The seal bore the 
representation of a beaver rampant— an animal very 
valuable for its fur, and then abundant. The seal of 
the city of New York (seen in the engraving) has 
tlie beaver in one of its quartermgs. New Amster- 
dam remained in the possession of the Dutch until 
1664, when it was surrendered into the hands of tlie 
English, on demand being made, in the presence of 

numerous ships of war, laden with land troops. Tlien the name was changed from New Amsterdam to 
New York, in honour of James, Duke of York, afterwards James II., to whom the whole domain had 
been granted by his profligate brother, King Charles. 




SEALS OF KEW A.MSTEED.\M AND NEW YOEK. 



428 



THE HUDSON. 



disturbed tlaeir repose, and made society alarmingly cosmopolitan. This 
feature increased with the lapse of time ; and no-w that little Dutch 
trading village two hundred years ago — grown into a vast commercial 
metropolis, and ranking among the most populous cities of the world — 
contains representatives of almost every nation on the face of the earth. 
Broadway, the famous street of commercial palaces, terminates at a 




DUTCH MANSION AND COTTAGE IN NEW AMSTEKDAM. 



shaded mall and green, called "The Battery," a name derived from 
fortifications that once existed there. The first fort erected on Manhattan 
Island, by the Dutch, was on the banks of the Hudson, at its mouth, in 
the rear of Trinity Church. The next was built upon the site of the 
Bowling Green, at the foot of Broadway. These were on eminences over- 



THE HUDSON. 



429 



looking the bay. The latter was a stronger work, and became permanent. 
It was called Fort Amsterdam. The palisades on the line of Wall Street 
(and which suggested its name) were of cedar, and were planted in 1653, 
when an English invading force was expected. In 1692, the English, 
apprehensive of a French invasion, built a strong battery on a rocky point 
at the eastern end of the present Battery, at the foot of White Hall Street. 
Finally a stone fort, with four bastions, was erected. It covered a portion 
of the ground occupied by the Battery of to-day. It was called Fort 




George, in honour of the then reigning sovereign of England. Within its 
walls were the governor's house and most of the government offices. 

In the vicinity of the fort many stirring scenes were enacted when the 
old war for independence was kindling. Hostile demonstrations of the 
opponents of the famous Stamp Act of 1766 were made there. In front 



* This little picture sliow3 the appearance of the Bowling Green and its viciuitj-, soon after the close 
of the war for independence. Within the enclosiu-e is seen the pedestal on which stood the statue of 
the king. Near it, the Kennedy House, mentioned in the text, and beyond it, Fort George, the Bay of 
New York, Governor's Island, and the Narrows, on the left, and Staten Island bounding most of the 
horizon, in the distance. 



430 THE HUDSON. 



of the fort, Lieutenant-Governor Colden's fine coach, his effigy, and the 
wooden railing around the Bowling Green, were made materials for a great 
bonfire by the mob. 

At the beginning of the war for independence, Fort George and its 
dependencies had three batteries, — one of four guns, near the Bowling 
Green ; another (the Grand Battery) of twenty guns, where the flag-staff 
on the Battery now stands ; and a third of two heavy guns at the foot of 
"White Hall Street, called the White Hall Battery. Here the boldness of 
the Sons of Liberty was displayed at the opening of the revolution, by the 
removal of guns from the battery in the face of a cannonade from a British 
ship of war in the harbour. From here was witnessed, by a vast and 
jubilant crowd, the final departure of the British army, after the peace of 
1783, and the unfurling of the banner of the Eepublic from the flag-staff 
of Fort George, over which the British ensiga had floated more than six 
years. The anniversary of that day — "Evacuation Day" — (the 25th of 
ITovember) is always celebrated in the city of New York by a military 
parade and feu dejoie. 

Fort George and its dependencies have long ago disappeared, but the 
ancient Bowling Green remains. An equestrian statue of George the 
Third, made of lead, and gilded, was placed upon a high pedestal, in the 
centre of it, in 1770. It was ordered by the Assembly of the province in 
1766, in token of gratitude for the repeal of the odious Stamp Act. The 
Green was then enclosed with an iron paling.*^ Only six years later, on 
the evening when the Declaration of Independence was read to Washing- 
ton's army in New York, soldiers and citizens joined in pulling down the 
statue of the king. The round heads of the iron fence-posts were 
knocked off for the use of the artillery, and the leaden statue of his 
Majesty was made into bullets for the use of the republican army. " His 
troops," said a writer of the day, referring to the king, " will probably 
have melted majesty fired at them." The pedestal of the statue, seen in 
the engraving, remained in the Bowling Green some time after the war; 



* This work of art was by Wilton, of London, and was tlie first equestrian statue of hia Majesty 
ever erected. Wilton made a curious omission— stirrups were wantinp;. It was a common remark of 
the Continental soldiers, that it was proijer for " the tjTant " to ride a hard trotting horse without 
stirrups. 



THE HUDSON. 



431 



and the old iron railing, with its decapitated posts, is still there. A 
fountain of Croton water occupies the site of the statue ; and the 
surrounding disc of green sward, where the citizens amused themselves 
with bowling, is now shaded by magnificent trees. 

I^ear the Bowling Green, across Broadway (No. 1), is the Kennedy 




THE BOWLING GREEN IN 1861. 



House, where "Washington and General Lee, and afterwards Sir Henry 
Clinton, Generals Robertson and Carleton, and other British officers, had 
their head-quarters. It has been recently altered by an addition to its 
height.'^* 



* This house was built by Captain Kennedy, of the Koyal Navy, at about tlie time of his mamage 
with the daughter of Peter Schuyler, of New Jersey, in 1765. 



432 



THE HUDSON. 



The present Battery or park, looking out upon the bay of New York, 
was formed early in the present century ; and a castle, pierced for heavy 
guns, was erected near its western extremity. For many years, the 
Battery was the chief and fashionable promenade for the citizens in summer 
weather ; and State Street, along its town border, was a very desirable 
place of residence. The castle was dismantled, and became a place of 







THE BATTEEY AND CASTLE GAEDEN. 



public amusement. For a long time it was known as Castle Garden ; but 
both are now deserted by fashion and the Muses. All of old New York 
has been converted into one vast business mart, and there are very few 
respectable residences within a mile of the Battery. At the present time 
(September, 1861), it exhibits a martial display. Its green sward is 



THE HUDSON. 



433 



covered with tents and barracks for the recruits of the Grand National 
Army of Yolunteers, and its fine old trees give grateful shade to the 
newly-fledged soldiers preparing for the war for the Union. 

At White Hall, on the eastern border of the Battery, there was a great 
civic and military display, at the close of April, 1789, when "Washington, 




OLD FEDERAl HALL. 



coming to the seat of government to be inaugurated first President of the 
United States, landed there. He was received by officers and people with 
shouts of welcome, the strains of martial music, and the roar of cannon. 
He was then conducted to his residence on Franklin Square, and 
afterwards to the Old Federal Hall in Wall Street, where Congress held 
its sessions. It was at the comer of Wall and Nassau Streets, the site on 

3 K 



434 



THE HUDSON. 



which a fine marhle building was erected for a Custom House, and which 
is now used for the purposes of a branch Mint. In the gallery, in front 
of the hall, the President took the oath of office, administered by 
Chancellor Livingston, in the presence of a gi-eat assemblage of people who 
filled the street. 

The Hudson from the Battery, northward, is lined with continuous 
piers and slips, and exhibits the most animated scenes of commercial life. 
The same may be said of the East lliver for about an equal distance from 





HUDS03S' ElVER STEA^[EES LKAVIXC NEW YOUK. 



the Battery. Huge steam ferry-boats, magnificent passenger steamers, 
and freight barges, ocean steamships, and every variety of sailing vessel 
and other water craft may be seen in the Hudson Eiver slips, or out upon 
the bosom of the stream, faiiiy jostling each other near the wharves 
because of a lack of room. Upon every deck is seen busy men ; and the 
yo-heave-o ! is heard at the capstan on all sides. But the most animated 
scene of all is the departure of steamboats for places on the Hudson, from 
four to six o'clock each afternoon. The piers are filled Avith coaches, 



THE HUDSON. 435 



drays, carts, barrows, every kind of vehicle for passengers and light freight. 
Orange-women and news-boys assail you at every step with the cries of 
"Five nice oranges for a shilling!" — " 'Ere's the Evening Post and 
Expre&s, third edition ! " whilst the hoarse voices of escaping waste-steam, 
and the discordant tintinnabulation of a score of bells, hurry on the 
laggards by warnings of the near approach of the hour of departure. 
Several bells suddenly cease, when from different slips, steamboats covered 
with passengers will shoot out like race-horses from their grooms, and 
turning their prows northward, begin the voyage with wonderful speed, 
some for the head of tide-water at Troy, others for intermediate towns, 
and others still for places so near that the vessels may be ranked as ferry- 
boats. The latter are usually of inferior size, but well appointed ; and at 
several stated hours of the day carry excursionists or country residents to 
the neighbouring villages. Let us consider a few of these places, on the 
western shore of the Hudson, which the stranger would find pleasant to 
visit because of the beauty or grandeur of the natural scenery, and historic 
associations. 

The most remote of the villages to which excursionists go is Nyack, 
opposite Tarrytown, nearly thirty miles from I^ew York. It lies on the 
bank of the Hudson at the foot of the !N"yack Hills, which are broken 
ridges, extending several miles northward from the Palisades. Eack of 
the village, and along the river shore, are fertile and well- cultivated 
slopes, where fruit is raised in abundance. On account of the salubrity 
of the climate, beautiful and romantic scenery, and good society, it is a 
very delightful place for a summer residence. Prom every point of view 
interesting landscapes meet the eye. The broad Tappan Sea is before it, 
and stretching along its shores for several miles are seen the towns, and 
villas, and rich farms of Westchester County. In its immediate vicinity 
the huntsman and fisherman may enjoy his favourite sport. In its 
southern suburbs is the spacious building of the llockland Female 
Institute, seen in our sketch, in the midst of ten acres of land, and 
affording accommodation for one hundred pupils. During the ten weeks' 
summer vacation, it is used as a first-class boarding-house, under the 
title of the Tappan Zee House. 

About four miles below Nyack is Piermont, at which is the terminus of 



436 



THE HUDSON. 



the middle branch of the IS'ew York and Erie Railway. The village is 
the child of that road, and its life depends mainly upon the sustenance it 
receives from it. The company has an iron foundry and extensive 
repairing shops there; and it is the chief freight depot of the road. Its 
name is derived from a pier which juts a mile into the river. From it 




VIEAV KEAE NYACK. 



freight is transferred to cars and barges. Tappantown, where Major 
Andre was executed, is about two miles from Piermont. 

A short distance below Piermont is Eockland, a post village of about 
three hundred inhabitants, pleasantly situated on the river, and flanked 
by high hills. Here the Palisades proper have their northern termination ; 
and from here to Fort Lee the columnar range is almost unbroken. This 
place is better known as Sneeden's Landing. Here Cornwallis and six 



THE HUDSON. 437 



thousand British troops landed, and marched upon Fort Lcc, on the top of 
the Palisades, a few miles below, after the fall of Fort "Washington, in the 
autumn of 1776. 

One of the most interesting points on the west shore of the Hudson, 
near New York, and most resorted to, except Hoboken and its vicinity, is 
Fort Lee. It is within the domain of .'N'ew Jersey. The dividing line 
between that State and New York is a short distance below Rockland or 
Sneeden's Landing; and it is only the distance between there and its 
mouth (about twenty miles) that the Hudson washes any soil but that of 
the State of New York. 

The village of Fort Lee is situated at the foot of the Palisades. A 
winding road passes from it to the top of the declivity, through a deep, 
wooded ravine. The site of the fort is on the left of the head of the 
ravine, in the ascent, and is now marked by only a few mounds and a 
venerable pine-tree just south of them, which tradition avers once 
sheltered the tent of Washington. As the great patriot never pitched his 
tent there, tradition is in error. "Washington was at the fort a short time 
at the middle of November, 1776, while the combined British and Hessian 
forces were attacking Fort "Washington on the opposite shore. He saw 
the struggle of the garrison and its assailants, without ability to aid his 
friends. "When the combat had continued a long time, he sent word to 
the commandant of the fort, that if he could hold out until night, he 
could bring the garrison off. The assailants were too powerful ; and 
"Washington, with Generals Greene, Mercer, and Putnam, and Thomas 
Paine, the influential political pamphleteer of the day, was a witness of 
the slaughter, and saw the red cross of St. George floating over the lost 
fortress, instead of the "CFnion stripes which had been unfurled there a few 
months before. The title of Fort "Washington was changed to that of Fort 
Knyphausen, in honour of the Hessian general who was engaged in its 
capture. Fort Lee was speedily approached by the British under 
Cornwallis, and as speedily abandoned by the Americans. The latter fled 
to the Republican camp at Hackensack, when "VYashington commenced his 
famous retreat through New Jersey, from the Hudson to the Delaware, 
for the purpose of saving the menaced federal capital, Philadelphia. 

The view from the high point north of Fort Lee is extensive and 



438 



THE HUDSON. 



interesting, up and down the river. Across are seen the villages of 
Carmansville and Manhattanville, and fine country seats near ; while 
southward, on the left, the city of 'New York stretches into the dim 




VIEW FEO^Vt POKT LEK. 



distance, with Staten Island and the Narrows still beyond. On the 
right are the wooded cliffs extending to Hoboken, Avith the little villages 
of Pleasant Valley, Bull's Ferry, AVeehawk, and Hoboken, along the 
shore. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

EOUT three miles below Fort Lee is Bull's Ferry, 
a village of a few houses, and a great resort for 
the working-people of New York, when spending 
a leisure day. The steep, wooded bank rises 
abruptly in the rear, to an altitude of about two 
hundred feet. There, as at Wcehawk, are many 
pleasant paths through the woods leading to vistas 
through which glimpses of the city and adjacent waters are 
obtained. Hither pic-nic parties come to spend warm summer 
days, where — 

'■ Overhead 
Tlie brandies arch, iiiiil ^htlpc a pleasant bower, 
Breaking white cloud, blue sky, and sunshine biighf. 
Into pure ivory and sapphire spots. 
And flocks of gold ; a soft, cool emerald tint 
Colours the air, as though tlie delicate leaves 
Emitted self-born light." 




Our little sketch of Bull's Ferry is taken from Weehawk "Wharf, and 
shows the point on which was a block-house during the revolution ; from 
that circumstance it has always been called lilock-house Point. Its 
history has a melancholy interest, as it is connected with that of the 
unfortunate Major Andre. In the summer of 1780, a few weeks before 
the discovery of Arnold's treason, that block-house was occupied by a 
British picket, for the protection of some woodcutters, and the neigh- 
bouring Xew Jersey loyalists. On Bergen Xeck below was a large 
number of cattle and horses, belonging to the Americans, within reach of 
the foragers who might go out from the British post at Paulus's Hook, 
now Jersey City. Washington's head-quarters were then inhmd, near 
Ramapo. He sent General Wayne, with some Pennsylvanian and Mary- 
land troops, horse and foot, to storm the block-house, and to drive the 



440 



THE HUDSON. 



cattle within tlie American lines. "Wayne sent the cavalry, under Major 
Henry Lee, to perform the latter duty, whilst he and three Pennsylvanian 
regiments marched against the block-house with four pieces of cannon. 
They made a spirited attack, but their cannon were too light to be 
effective, and, after a skirmish, the Americans were repulsed with a loss 
of sixty men, killed and wounded. After burning some wood-boats near. 




BITIL S FEERY. 



and capturing^ those who had them in charge, Wayne returned to camp 
with a large number of cattle driven by the dragoons. 

This event was the theme of a satirical poem, in three cantos, in the 
ballad style, written by Major Andre, and published in Rivington's^oyrt^ 
Gazette, in the city of New York. The following is a correct copy, made 



THE HUDSON. 441 



by the writer for his Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, in 1850, 
from an original in the hand- writing of Major Andre. It was written 
upon small folio paper. The poem is entitled 

THE cow CHASE. 
Canto I. 

To drive tlie kine one summer's morn, 

The tanner* took his way ; 
The calf shall rue, that is unborn, 

The j-urabling of that day. 

And Wayne descending steers shall know 

And tauntingly deride, 
And call to mind, in every low, 

The tanning of his liide. 

Yet Bergen cows still ruminate 

Unconscious in the stall. 
What mighty means were used to get 

And lose them after all. 

For many heroes bold and brave 

From New Bridge and Tapaan, 
Ami those that drink Passaic's wave, 

And those that eat soupaan ;t 

And sons of distant Delaware, 

And still remoter Shannon, 
And Major Lee with horses rare. 

And Proctor with his cannon ; J 

All wondrous proud in arms they ca:iie — 

What hero could refuse. 
To tread tlie rugged path to fame, 

Vfiio had a pair of shoes ? 

At six the host, with sweating buff, 

Arrived at Freedom's Pole, 
Wlien Wayne, who thought he'd time enough, 

Thus speechified the whole : 

' O ye whom glory doth unite. 

Who Freedom's cause espouse. 
Whether the wing that's doomed to fight. 
Or that to drive the cows ; 



* This is in allusion to the supposed business of General Wayne, in early life, who, it was said, was a 
tanner. He was a surveyor. 

t A common name for hasty-pudding, made of the meal of maize or Indian corn. 

t Major Harry Lee was commander of a corps of hght horseman, and Colonel Proctor was at the head 
of a cori)s of artillery. 

3 L 



442 



THE HUDSON. 



" Ere yet you tempt your further way, 

Or into action come, 
Hear, soldiers, what I have to say, 

And take a pint of rum. 

" Intemp'rate valour then will string 
Each nervous arm the better. 

So all the land shall 10 ! sing. 
And read the gen'ral's letter. 

" Know that some paltry refugees, 

AVhom I've a mind to tight, 
Are playing li—l among the trees 

That grow on yonder height. 

" Their fort and block-house we'll level. 
And deal a han'id slaughter ; 

We'll drive the scoundrels to the devil. 
And ravish wife and daughter. 

" I under cover of th' attack, 

Whilst you are all at blows, 
From English Neighb'rhood and Tinack 

Will drive away the cows. 



" For well you know the latter is 

The serious operation, 
And fighting with the refugees 

Is only demonstration.'' 

His daring words from all the crowd 
Such great applause did gain, 

That every man declared aloud 
Foj serious woi'k with Wayne. 



I 



Then from the cask of rum once more 

They took a heady gill, 
^^■hen one and all they loudly swore 

They'd fight upon the hill. 

But here — the muse has not a strain 

Befitting such great deeds, 
" HuiTa," the)' cried, " hurra for Wajme ! ' 

And, shouting — did their needs. 



Canto II. 

Near his meridian pomp, the sun 
Had journey'd from the horizon, 

When fierce the dusky tribe moved on, 
Of heroes diunk as poison. 



The sounds confused of boasting oaths, 

Ke-echoed through the wood. 
Some vow'd to sleep in dead men's clothes 

And some to swim in blood. 



THE HUDSON. 



443 



At Inine's nod,* 'twas fine to see 

The left prepared to fight, 
The while tlie drovers, Wayne and Lee, 

Drew off upon the riglij. 

Wliich Irvine 'twas Fame don't relate. 
Nor can the Muse assist hei-, 

Whether 'twas he that cocks a hat. 
Or he that gives a glister. 

For greatl}' one was signalised. 
That fonght at Chestnut Hill, 

And Canada immortalised 
The vendor of t]ie pill. 

Yet the attendance upon Proctor 
They both might have to boast of ; 

For there was business for tlie doctor. 
And hats to be disposed of. 

Let none uncandidly infer 
That Stirling wanted spunk. 

The self-made peer liad sure been tiiere. 
But Ihat the peer was drunk, f 

But turn we to the Hudson's banks, 
Where stood the modest train. 

With purpose firm, though slender rank? 
Nor cared a pin for Wayne. 

For then the unrelenting hand 

Of rebel fury di'ove. 
And tore from ev'ry genial band 

Of friendship and of love. 

And some within a dungeon's gloom, 

By mock tribunals laid, 
Had waited long a cruel doom, 

Impending o'er their heads. 

Here one bewails a brother's fate, 

'I here one a sire demands, 
Cut off, alas ! before their date, 

Bj- ignominious hands. 

And silver'd grandsires here appcar'd 

In deep distress serene, 
Of reverend manners that declared 

The better daj-s they'd seeu. 

Oh! cursed rebellion, these are thiue, 
Thine are these tales of woe ; 

Shall at thy dire insatiate shrine 
Blood never cease to flow? 



* General William Irvine, of Pennsylvania. 

t William Alexander, who tmsuccessfuUy claimed the title of the Scotch Earl cf Stirling. I: was 
believed that liis claim was just, and he was generally called " Lord Stirling." 



444 



THE HUDSON. 



And now the foe began to lead 

His forces to th' attack ; 
Balls wlilstlinn; unto balls succeed. 

And make the block-house crack. 

No shot could pass, if you will take 

The gen'nil's word for true ; 
But 'tis a d — ble mistake, 

For ev'ry shot went through. 

The fiiuner as the rebels pressed, 

The loyal heroes stand ; 
Virtue had nerved each honest breast, 

And Industry each hand. 

In valour's frenzy, Hamilton 

Rode like a soldier big, 
And secretary Harrison, 

With pen stuck in his wig.* 

But, lest chieftain Washington 

Should mourn them in the mumps, t 

The fate of Withrington to shun, 
They fought behind the stumps. 

But ah ! Thaddeus Posset, why 

Should thy poor soul elope ? 
And why should Titus Hooper die, 

Ah ! die — without a rope ? 

Apostate Murphy, thou to whom 

Fair Shela ne'er was cruel ; 
111 death shalt hear lier mourn thy doom, 

Och ! would ye die, any jewel ? 

Tliee, Nathan Pumpkin, I lament, 

Of melancholy fate, 
The gray goose, stolen as he went. 

In his heart's blood was wet. 

Now as the fli;ht was further fought, 

And balls began to thicken. 
The fray assumed, the gen'rals thought, 

The coloiu' of a licking. 

Yet undismay'd the chiefs command, 

And, to redeem the day, 
Crj', " Soldiers, charge ! " they hear, they stand. 

They turn and run away. 

Cakto III. 

Not all delights the bloody spear. 

Or horrid din of battle. 
There are, I'm sure, who'd like to hear 

A word about the rattle. 



* Colonels Hamilton and Harrison, of Washington's staff. 

t A painful swelling of the glands, then prevalent in the Republican army. 



THE HUDSON. 



445 



The chief whom we belield of late, 

Near Schralenberg liaranguiiig, 
At Yaii Van Poop's unconscious sat 

Of Irvine's hearty banging. 

Wliile vahant Lee, witli courage wild, 

Most bravely did oppose 
The tears of women and of child. 

Who begg'd he'd leave the cows. 

But Wayne, of sympatliising heart, 

Kequired a relief, 
Not all the blessings could impart 

Of battle or of beef. 

For now a prey to female charms. 

His soul took more delight in 
A lovely Hamadryad's arms 

Than cow diiving or fighting. 

A nymph, the refugees had drove 

Far from her native tree, 
Just happen'd to be on the move. 

When up came Wayne and Lee. 

She in mad Anthony's fierce eye 

The hero saw portra}''d. 
And, all in tears, she took him by 

— The bridle of his jade. 

"Hear," said the nymph, "O great comman lor. 

No human lamentations, 
Tlie trees you see them cutting yonder 

Are all my near relations. 

"And I, forlorn, implore thine aid 

To free tlie sacred grove : 
So shall thy prowess be repaid 

With an immortal's love." 

Now some, to prove she was a goddess ! 

Said this enchanting fair 
Had late retired from the Bodies,* 

In all the pomp of war. 

That di'ums and merry fifes had play'd 

To honour her retreat. 
And Cunningliam himself convey'd 

The lady through the street. 

Great Wayne, by soft compassion sway'd. 

To no inquiry stoops. 
But takes the fair, afflicted maid 

Right into Yan Van Poop's. 



* A cant appellation given among the soldiery to the corps that had the honour to guard his majesty's 
person. 



So Koman Anthony, they say, 
Disgi-acecl th' imperial banner, 

And for a gipsy lost a day, 
Like Antliony the tanner. 

The Hamadryad had but halt 
Keceived redress from Wayne, 

When dnims and colours, cow and calf, 
Came down the road amain. 

All in a cloud of dust were seen. 
The sheep, the horse, the goat. 

The gentle heifer, ass obscene, 
The yearling and the shoat. 

And pack-horses with fowls came by, 

Befeathered on each side. 
Like Pegasus, the horse that I 

And other poets ride, 

■Sublime upon the stirrups rose 

The mighty Lee behind. 
And drove the teiTor-sraitten cows, 

Lilce chaff before the wind. 

But sudden see the woods above 

Pour down another corps, 
AH helter skelter in a drove. 

Like that I sung before. 

Irvine and terror in the van. 

Came flying all abroad. 
And cannon, colours, horse, and man, 

Ran tumbling to the road. 

Still as he fled, 'twas Irvine's cry. 

And his example too, 
" Bun on, my men-y men all— for why f ' 

The shot will not go through.* 

As when two kennels in the street, 

Swell'd with a recent rain, 
In gushing streams together meet. 

And seek the neighbouring drain ; 

So meet these dung-boni tribes in one, 

As swift in their career. 
And so to New Bridge they ran on— 

But all the cows got clear. 



* Five refugees ('tis true) were found 
Stiff on tlie block-house floor. 
But then 'tis thought the shot went round, 
And in at the back door. 



THE HUDSON. 447 



Poor Parson Caldwell,* all in wonder, 

Saw the returning train, 
And mourn'd to Wayne the lack of plunder, 

For them to steal again. 

For 'twas his right to seize the spoil, and 
To share with each commander, 

As he had done at Staten Island 
With frost-bit Alexander.t 

In his dismay, the frantic priest 

Began to grow prophetic. 
You had swore, to see his lab'ring breast, 

He'd taken an emetic. 

"I view a future day," said he, 
" Brighter than this day dark is. 

And you shall see what you shall see. 
Ha! ha! one pretty marquis ;t 

" And he shall come to Paulus' Hook, ^ 
And great adiievements think on. 

And make a bow and take a look. 
Like Satan over Lincoln. 

" And all the land around shall glory 

To see the Frenchman caper. 
And pretty Susan tell the story 

In the next Chatham paper." 

This solemn prophecy, of course, 

Gave all much consolation, 
Except to Wayne, who lost his horse. 

Upon the great occasion : 

His horse that carried all his prog, 

His military speeches, 
His corn-stalk whisky for his gi'og — 

Blue stockings and brown breeches. 

And now I've closed my epic strain, 

I tremble as I show it. 
Lest Uiis same warrio-drover, Wayne, 

Should ever catc the poet. 



It has been remarked as a curious coincidence, that on the day when 
the last canto of the above poem was published in Rivington's Gazette, 
Major Andre was arrested ; and that General Wayne, so ridiculed in it, 
and who is so peculiarly alluded to in the last stanza, was the commander 
of the military force from which was detailed the guard that accompanied 

• A patriotic preacher of the G6spel, at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, who was afterwards murdered, 
t William Alexander, Lord Stirling. % The Mai'quis de Lafayette. ^ New Jersey city. 



448 



THE HUDSON. 



the gifted young officer to the scaffold. On the autograph copy from 
which I copied the poem, and which Andre dated " Elizabethtown [New 
Jersey], August 1, 1780," were the following lines: — 

" When this epic sti-ain was sung, 
The poet by the neck was hung ; 
And to his cost he finds too hite, 
The ' dung-horn tribe ' decides his fate." 

The next village below Bull's Ferry is "Weehawk,^' a place of great 




' 4«,^n^'tv}>iK. 



DUELLING GROUND— WEEHAWK. 



resort in summer by pleasure seekers from the metropolis. It is made 



* Tliis is an Indian word, and is tlius spelt in its purity. The Dutch spelt it Wiehachan, and it is 
now commonly written Weehawken ; I liave adopted the orthogi-aphy that expresses the pure Indian 
pronunciatit n. 



THE HUDSON. 449 



famous by its connection with the duelling ground where General 
Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the Republic, was mortally 
wounded in single combat, by Aaron Burr, then Vice-President of the 
United States. They were bitter political foes. Without just provoca- 
tion, in the summer preceding an important election. Burr, anxious to 
have Hamilton out of his way, challenged him to fight. The latter, out 
of unnecessary respect for a barbarous public opinion, accepted the chal- 
lenge; and early in the morning of the 11th of July, 1804, they and 
friends crossed the Hudson to "VVeehawk, and stood as foes upon the 
duelling ground. Hamilton was opposed to duelling ; and, pursuant to 
his previous resolution, did not fi^re his pistol. The malignant Burr took 
deliberate aim, and fired with fatal precision. Hamilton lived little more 
than thirty hours. His death produced the most profound grief through- 
out the nation. Burr lived more than thirty years, a fugitive, like Cain, 
and suffering the bitter scorn of his countrymen. This crime, added to 
his known vices, made him thoroughly detested, and few men had the 
courage to avow themselves his friend. A monument was erected to the 
memory of Hamilton, on the spot where he fell. It was afterwards 
destroyed by some marauder. The place is now a rough one, on the 
margin of the river, and is marked by a rude arm-chair Ov sofa (seen in 
our sketch, in which we are looking up the river) made of stones. On 
one of them the half-effaced names of Hamilton and Burr may be seen. 

The next place of interest below Weehawk is that known in former 
times as the Elysian Fields. I remember it as a delightful retreat at 
" high noon," or by moonlight, for those who loved Nature in her quiet 
and simple forms. Then there were stately trees near the bank of the 
river, and from their shades the eye rested upon the busy surface of the 
stream, or the busier city beyond. There, on a warm summer afternoon, 
or a moonlit evening, might be seen scores of both sexes strolling upon 
the soft grass, or sitting upon the green sward, recalling to memory many 
beautiful sketches of life in the early periods of the world, given in the 
volumes of the old poets. All is now changed ; the trips of Charon to 
the Elysian Fields are suspended, and the grounds, stripped of many of 
the noble trees, have become "private," and subjected to the manipula- 
tions of the *'real estate agent." Even the Sibyl's Cave, under Castle 

3 M 



450 



THE HUDSON. 



Point, at the southern houndaiy of the Elysian Fields — a cool, rocky 

cavern containing a spring — has been spoiled by the clumsy hand of Art. 

The low promontory below Castle Point was the site of the large 







VIEW AT THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. 



ladian village of Hohoch. There the pleasant little city of Hoboken now 
stands, and few of its quiet denizens are aware of the dreadful tragedy 
performed in that vicinity more than two hundred years ago. The story 



I 



THE HUDSON. 451 



may be related in few words. A fierce feud had existed for some time 
between the New Jersey Indians and the Dutch on Manhattan. Several 
of the latter had been murdered by the former, and the Hollanders had 
resolved on vengeance. At length the fierce Mohawks, bent on procuring 
tribute from the weaker tribes westward of the Hudson, came sweeping 
down like a gale from the north, driving great mimbers of fugitives upon 
the Hackensacks at Hobock. Now was the opportunity for the Dutch. 
A strong body of them, with some Mohawks, crossed the Hudson at mid- 
night, in February, 1643, fell upon the unsuspecting Indians, and before 
morning murdered almost one hundred men, women, and children. Many 
were driven from the cliff's of Castle Point, and perished in the freezing 




STEVEXS S FLOATING BATTEEy. 



flood. At sunrise the murderers returned to New Amsterdam, with 
prisoners and the heads of several Indians. 

A large proportion of the land at Hoboken is owned by the Stevens 
family, who have been identified with steam navigation from its earliest 
triumphs. The head of the family laid out a village on Hoboken Point, 
in 1804. It has become a considerable city. Members of the same 
family had large manufacturing establishments there ; and for several 
years before the Civil War had been constructing, upon a novel plan, a 
huge floating battery for harbour defences, for the government of the 
United States, and more than a million of dollars had already been spent 
in its construction, when the war broke out. It had been utterly shut in 
from the public eye, until a very short time before that event. Our space 
will allow nothing more than an outline description of it. It is a vessel 



452 THE HUDSON. 



seven hundred feet long (length of the Great Eastern), covered with 
plates of iron so as to be absolutely bomb and round shot proof. It is to 
be moved by steam engines of sufficient power to give it a momentum 
that will cause it to cut a man-of-war in two, when it strikes it at the 
waists. It will mount a battery of sixteen heavy rifled cannon in bomb- 
proof casemates, and two heavy columbiads for throwing shells will be 
on deck, one forward and one aft. The smoke-pipe is constructed in 
sliding sections, like a telescope, for obvious purposes; and the huge 
vessel may be sunk so that its decks alone will be above the water. It 
is to be rated at six thousand tons. The war was productive of a variety 
of iron-clad vessels far more effective than this promises to be, and it is 
probable that it will never be completed. 

Opposite the lower part of the city of New York, and separated from 
Hoboken by a bay and marsh, is Jersey City, on a point at the mouth of 
the Hudson, known in early times as Paulus's or Pauw's Hook, it having 
been originally obtained from the Indians by Michael Pauw. This was 
an important strategic point in the revolution. Here the British esta- 
blished a military post after taking possession of the city of New York in 
1776, and held it until August, 1779, when the active Major Henry Lee, 
mentioned in Andre's satire of "The Cow Chase," with his legion, sur- 
prised the garrison, killed a number, and captured the fort, just before 
the dawn. Now a flourishing city — a suburb of New York — covers that 
point. Immense numbers of travellers pass through it daily, it being the 
terminus of several important railways that connect with New York by 
powerful steam ferry-boats. Here, too, are the wharves of the Cunard 
line of ocean steamers. Before it is the broad and animated bay of New 
York, forming its harbour, and, stretching away to the south-west, nine 
miles or more, is Newark Bay, that receives the Passaic Eiver. 

Here we leave the Hudson proper, and after visiting some prominent 
places in the vicinity of the metropolis, will accompany the reader to 
the sea. 

Adjacent to Manhattan Island, and separated from it by the narrow 
East Biver, is Long Island, which stretches along the coast from "West 
to East, about one hundred and forty miles. It is rich in traditional, 
legendary, and historical reminiscences. Near its western extremity, and 



THE HUDSON. 



453 



opposite the city of New York, is the large and beautiful city of Brooklyn,*' 
whose intimate social and business relations with the metropolis, and 
connection by numerous ferries, render it a sort of suburban town. Its 
growth has been wonderful. Less than sixty years ago, it contained 
only a ferry-house, a few scattered dwellings, and a church. Now it 
comprises an area of 16,000 acres, with an exterior line of twenty-two 
miles. Like New York, it has absorbed several villages. It was incor- 
porated a village in 1816, and a city in 1834, Its central portion is 




JERSEY CITY AND CL'KAED DUCK.. 



upon a range of irregular hills, fortified during the revolution. The 
bluff on which Fort Stirling stood — now known as "The Heights" — is 
covered with fine edifices, and aff'ords extensive views of New York and 
its harbour. Williamsburgh, which had become quite a large city, was 
annexed to Brooklyn in 1854. Between the two cities isAYallaboutBay, 
the scene of great suffering among the American prisoners, in British 
prison-ships, during the revolution. Eleven thousand men perished 



» From the Dutch Breuck-liindt— broken land. 



454 



TH-E HUDSON. 



there, and their remains were buried in shallow graves on the shore. 
Near its banks was born Sarah Eapelje, the first child of European 
parents that drew its earliest breath within the limits of the State of New 
York.* Upon that aceldama of the old war for independence in the 
vicinity of the Hudson, is now a dockyard of the United States Govern- 
ment, which covers about forty-five acres of land. "Within the enclosure 
is a depository of curious things, brought home by officers and seamen of 
the navy, and is called the Naval Lyceum. It contains a fine geological 




BKOOKLVX FEREV AKD HEIGHTS. 



cabinet, and a library of several thousand volumes. Upon a gentle hill 
back of the Navy Yard is a United States Marine Hospital, seen in our 
sketch. 

The southern portion of Brooklyn lies upon low ground, with an 
extensive water front. There, immense commercial works have been 



* In April, 1623, thirty families, cliiefly Walloons (French Protestants who had taken refuge in 
Holland), aiTived at Manhattan, in charge of the first Governor of New Netherland. Eight of these 
families went up the Hudson, and settled at Albany ; the remainder chose their place of abode across 
the channel of the East Kiver, upon lands now covered by a portion of the city of Brooklyn and the 
United States Navy Yard. 



THE HUDSON. 



455 



constructed, known as the Atlantic Docks, covering forty acres, and 
affording within the "slips" water of sufficient depth for vessels of 
largest size. There is an outside pier, three thousand feet in length, and 
on the wharves are extensive warehouses of granite. These wharves 
afford perfect security from depredators to vessels loading and unloading. 
A little below Brooklyn, and occupying a portion of the ground 
whereon the conflict between the British and American armies, known as 
the battle of Long Island, was fought, at the close of the summer of 




NAVr VAKD, DROOKLYK. 



1776, is Greenwood Cemetery, one of the most noted burial-places in the 
country. A greater portion of it is within the limits of the city of 
Brooklyn. It comprises four hundred acres of finely diversified land. 
The present population of that " city of the dead" is probably not less 
than 70,000. One of the most delightful places within its borders is 
Sylvan Water, near the shores of which may be seen a monument, over 
the grave of an Indian princess, of the tribe of Min-ne-ha-ha, the bride of 
Longfellow's Hi-a-ivat-ha, who died in New York a few years ago. Also 



456 



THE HUDSON. 



the grave of M'Donald Clarke, known in New York, twenty years ago, 
as the " Mad Poet." His monument is seen upon a little hillock in our 
sketch of Sylvan "Water. Clarke was an eccentric child of genius. He 




^^^^ 



SYLVAN WATER, GREENWOOD. 



became, in his latter years, an unhappy wanderer, with reason half 
dethi-oned, a companion of want, and the victim of the world's neglect. 
His proud spirit disdained to ask food, and he famished. Society, of 



THE HUDSON. 457 



whom his necessities asked bread, " gave him a stone " — a monument of 
white marble, with his profile in has-relief. He died in March, 1842. 
" He was a poet," says his biographer, " of the order of Nat Lee ; one of 
those wits, in whose heads, according to Dryden, genius is divided from 
madness by a thin partition." *' 

From two or three prominent points in Greenwood Cemetery fine 
views of New York city and bay may be obtained, but a better compre- 
hension of the scenery of the harbour, and adjacent shores, may be had 
in a voyage down the Bay to Staten Island. f This may be accomplished 




governor's and bedloe's islands. 



many times a day, on steam ferry-boats, from the foot of Whitehall 
Street, near "The Battery." As we go out from the "slip," we soon 
obtain a general view of the harbour. On the left is Governor's Island, 
with Castle Williams upon its western extremity, and Fort Columbus 



* Duyckiuck's Cj'clopEedia of American Literature." 

t This island was purchased from the Indians in 1630, by the proprietor of tlie land on which Jersey 
city now stands, and all of that vicmltj'. It reverted to the Dutch West India Company, when It was 
called Status Eylandt, or the State's Island. A considerable number of French Protestants (Huguenots), 
who fled to America after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, settled on Staten Island. The British 
troops took possession of the Island in 1776, and held it until the autumn of 1783. 

3 N 



458 



THE HUDSON. 



lying upon its crown, shaded with okl Lombardy poplars. On the right 
is Bedloe's Island,* mostly occupied by Port Wood, a heavy fortification, 
erected in 1841. JN'ear it is Ellis's Island, with a small military work, 
called Fort Gibson. This was formerly named Gibbet Island, it being 
then, as now, tlie place for the execution of pirates. These islands 
belong to the United States. The forts upon them were used as prisons 
for captured soldiers of the armies in rebellion during the Civil War, 

Before the voyager down the bay lies Staten Island, which, with the 
western end of Long Island, presents a great barrier to the ocean winds 




THE NAKBOWS, FROM QUAEANTINE. 



and waves, and affords a shelter to vessels in the harbour of New York 
from the tempest outside. It is nearly oval-shaped, fourteen miles in 
length, and eight in breadth. It was heavily wooded, and sparsely 
settled, when the British army occupied it, in the summer of 177G. 
Now, the hand of cultivation is everywhere visible. Its shores bordering 
on New York Bay are dotted with lively villages, and all over the broad 
range of hills that extend from the Narrows, across the island, are superb 



* So named from Isaac Bedloe, the patentee under Governor Nicholson. 



THE HUDSON. 



459 



country-seats, and neat farmliouses. It is a favonrite place of summer 
residence for the wealthy and business men of New York — easy of access, 
and salubrious. These country-seats usually overlook the bay. The 
tourist will find an excursion over this island a delightful one. 

On the northern extremity of Staten Island, the State of New York 
established a quarantine as early as 1799, and maintained it until the 
beginning of September, 1858, when the inhabitants of the village that 
had grown up there, and of the adjacent country, who had long petitioned 
for its removal as a dangerous nuisance, destroyed all the buildings by 
fire. There had been more than five hundred cases of yeUow fever there 




FOBT LAFAYETTE. 



two years before, and the distress and alarm created by that contagion 
made the people determine to rid themselves of the cause. Since the 
destruction of the establishment, a hospital-ship, to serve quarantine 
purposes, has been anchored in the lower bay, preparatory to some 
permanent arrangement. 

From the Quarantine Dock may be obtained an excellent view of the 
Narrows, the ship channel between Long and Staten Islands through 
which vessels pass to and from the sea. Our little sketch gives a 
comprehensive view of that broad gate to the harbour of New York. On 
the right is seen Staten Island, with the new and substantial battery on 



460 



THE HUDSON. 



the water's edge, just below the unfinished Port "Wadsworth (formerly 
Fort Eichmond), On the left is the Long Island shore, with Fort 
Hamilton on its high bank, and Fort Lafayette, formerly Fort Diamond, 
in the stream below. The latter fort is upon Hendrick's lleef, two 
hundred yards from the Long Island shore. It was commenced in 1812, 
but had not been thoroughly completed when the Civil War commenced, 
although 350,000 dollars had been spent upon it. It was then capable 
of having mounted seventy-five heavy guns. It soon became famous as a 




rORT HAMILTON. 



politieal state prison in which many citizens, charged with disloyal, 
seditious, and treasonable acts toward the Government, were confined. 
Among them was Mr. Faulkner, of Virginia, who was the United States 
minister to the French Court during Mr. Buchanan's administration ; the 
mayor and chief of police of Baltimore ; members of the Maryland legis- 
lature, and the mayor of Washington city. The latter was released after 
a short confinement, on taking the oath of allegiance. 

On the eastern border of the Narrows stands Fort Hamilton, a strong 



THE HUDSON. 



461 



fortification completed in 1832, when a war with France seemed to be 
impending. It was enlarged and strengthened during the Civil War. 
At the beginning of the rebellion it mounted sixty heavy guns (a portion 
of them en harbeUe), forty-eight of which bore upon the ship channel. 
The fort is elevated, and commands the Lower Bay from the Narrows 
towards Sandy Hook. This work, with the fortifications on the opposite 
shore of Staten Island, and the water battery of Eort Lafayette in the 
channel, render the position, at the entrance to IN'ew York Bay, almost 
impregnable. 

A delightful voyage of fifteen minutes in a steamer, or half an hour 




SUEF BATHING, CONEY ISLAND. 



in a sail-boat, will take us to Coney Island, once a peninsula of Long 
Island at the lower end of Gravesend Bay. It is now connected with 
the main, by a good road, a causeway, and a bridge. The island is about 
five miles in length, and one in width, and contains about sixty acres of 
arable land. The remainder is made up of sand dunes, formed by the 



462 



THE HUDSON. 



action of the winds. These resemble snow-drifts, and are frona five to 
thirty feet in height. It is a favourite summer resort for bathers, its 
beach being unsurpassed. JS'ear the Pavilion, at its western end, the 
scene of our little sketch, the beach is very flat, and surf bathing is 
perfectly safe. There crowds of bathers of both sexes, in their sometimes 
grotesque dresses, may be seen every pleasant day in summer, especially 
at evening, enjoying the water. Refreshments are served at the Pavilion 
near, and a day may be spent there pleasantly and profitably. There are 
two or three summer boarding-houses at the other end of the island, 
which may be reached from Brooklyn in the space of forty-five minutes, 
by railways. 

Between Coney Island and Sandy Hook, is an expanse of water, several 




SANDY HOOK, FEOM THE SHIP CHANNIiL. 



miles across, in which is the sinuous channel followed by large vessels 
in their entrance to and exit from the harbour of New York in charge of 
the pilots. To the right, beyond Raritan Bay, is seen the New Jersey 
shore; while southward, in the blue distance, loom up the Navesink 
Highlands, on which stand the lighthouses first seen by the voyager from 
Europe, when approaching the port of New York. 

Sandy Hook is a long, low, narrow strip of sandy land, much of it 



THE HUDSON. 



463 



covered with shrubs and dwarf trees. It is about five miles in length, 
from the Navesink Lights to its northern extremity, whereon are two 
lighthouses. It is the southern cape of Raritan Bay, and has twice been 
an island, within less than a century. An inlet was cut through by the 
sea during a gale in 1778, but closed again in the year 1800. Another 






SANDY HOOK, FEOM THE LIGHTHOUSES. 



inlet was cut in 1830, and for several years it was so deep and broad that 
steamboats passed through it. That is now closed. 

At the northern extremity of Sandy Hook, the United States are now 
erecting strong fortifications. These will materially strengthen the 
defences of the harbour of New York, as this fort will command the ship 



464 THE HUDSON. 



channel. About a mile below the pier, near the lighthouse, on the inner 
shore of the Hook, once stood an elegant monument, erected to the 
memory of a son of the Earl of Morton, and thirteen others, who were 
cast away near there, in a snow-storm, during the revolution, and 
perished. All but one were oflS.cers of a British man-of-war, wrecked 
there. They were discovered, and buried in one grave. The mother of 
the young nobleman erected the monument, and it remained, respected 
even by the roughest men of the coast, until 1808, -when some vandals, 
from a Trench vessel-of-war, landed there, and destroyed that beautiful 
memorial of a mother's love. 

Here, reader, ou the borders of the great sea, we will part company for 
a season. "We have had a pleasant and memorable journey from the 
Wilderness, three hundred miles away to the northward, where the forest 
shadows eternally brood, and the wild beasts yet dispute for dominion 
with man. "We have looked upon almost every prominent object of 
Nature and Art along the borders of the Hudson, and have communed 
profitably, I hope, with History and Tradition on the way. "We have 
seen every phase of material progress, from Nature in her wildest forms, 
to Civilisation in its highest development. Our journey is finished — our 
observations have ceased — and here, with the yielding sand beneath our 
feet, a cloudless sky bending over us, and the heaving ocean before us — 

"The sea! the sea ! the open sea ! 
The hlue, the fresh, the ever free ! "— 



we will say Farewell ! 



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